At the time of the small full solar term, Tairodo is already full of green in the middle of summer.

Rongzhu nervously prepares to welcome the upcoming former crown prince, who has now been renamed the king of Canaan. Except for the eldest son of Xiao Jia, who stayed in the Holy Capital, the rest of the family will all follow Xiao Jia to Tai Rodo.

The Canaan County Prince's Mansion is ready-made. The palace of the king of Canaan in the previous dynasty is still preserved, but since Emperor Longwu changed the county of Canaan to Canaan, the palace has been sealed for more than ten years and has not been used.

The county guard mansion where Rongzhu is located is actually the prime minister's mansion during the original Canaan county king's period, and after Canaan changed to the county guard system, the state minister's mansion was slightly renovated and changed to the county guard's mansion.

Since Rongzhu received a series of edicts from the Dazhao Holy Dynasty to implement a new policy and Xiao Jia to serve as the king of Canaan, he began to prepare for the relevant work. The first is to send Rong Yong to the holy capital and concentrate on education with other noble children. Due to the experience of Rongya, Rongzhu told Rongyong to be cautious and not to make mistakes, especially to specifically instruct Rongyong, not to have anything to do with the royal family, and try to avoid it. Under the worries of Rong Zhu and his wife, Rong Yong left Tai Luo Duo calmly, accompanied by twenty family soldiers, and rushed to the holy capital. The second is to begin to liquidate and divide the military and administrative officials, so as to wait for the handover to them after the arrival of the crops. In addition, there is also an important work, which is to organize the people in the county guard to start repairing the palace of the former Canaan County King, which has been sealed for more than ten years. Although the grass and trees have been overgrown and dilapidated, the large framework of the Canaan County King's Palace is still extremely strong, and the Rongzhu County Guard's Mansion has finally sorted out the new Canaan County Palace. The main entrance is hung with a newly carved plaque of "Canaan County Palace".

In the evening of Xiaoman's day, just as Rongzhu was taking his wife, Rongyun, and Rongtanu to dinner, suddenly a small group of guards and an inner servant came from outside the door, and the inner attendant did not sing, but walked directly into the main hall of Rongzhu very politely, and saluted: "Lord County Guard, the slave maid came to make a front stop for His Royal Highness the King of Canaan." His Highness had a smooth journey, did not stop for a moment, and was expected to arrive in Taerodo around noon tomorrow. His Royal Highness has expressly decreed that the imperial court has implemented a new policy, and the county king and the county guard will coexist and rule, and under normal circumstances, they shall not govern affairs together, so when His Royal Highness arrives tomorrow, except for the county guard, other officials and soldiers in the county are not allowed to go out of the city to greet him. Your Highness also has an order, and you are not allowed to greet the county guard, and at that time, the slave maid and this team of guards can go outside the city with the county guard to greet you. ”

Rongzhu was a little surprised, and said, "The new policy doesn't seem to prohibit the county guard from leading his colleagues out of the city to meet the county king. This is a matter of etiquette, if the greeting is too simple, it will lose the face of heaven, right? ”

"Lord Gunjo, Your Highness said, it is always best to be frugal and low-key. His Royal Highness said that he hoped that the county keeper would understand His Highness's distress. ”

"Oh, it's heavy. The lower officials just follow the wishes of His Royal Highness the King of the County. ”

"That's for the best. The slave maid came in advance, but also to arrange and settle the palace where His Royal Highness will live in advance. His Royal Highness also has a clear order, as soon as it is furnished, it must not be luxurious, and it is enough. ”

"Good. Xia Guan has already made some arrangements in advance. So he took a few people to the palace of the king of Canaan to inspect it. ”

So, Rongzhu sent the lieutenant (1) to accompany the chamberlain and several guards to inspect the palace. According to the law of coexistence and partition of the county king, after the king of Canaan took office, the military power was assigned to the county king, so the commander also became a subordinate officer of the county king, and accompanied the inspection of the palace, which was naturally within the scope of his authority.

At the end of the second day, Rongzhu, his chamberlain, and the guards rushed to meet him outside the gate of Tairodo. After a short wait, a group of people slowly approached.

This is also a procession without a guard of honor, only two rows of guards on horseback, two rows of chamberlains, two rows of palace maids, a few large sedan chairs in the middle, and finally a long line of carriages pulling large boxes.

"His Royal Highness the King of Canaan has arrived." As the guards were about to reach the city gates, one of the chamberlains shouted. Immediately afterwards, the team stopped, and Xiao Jia walked out of a big sedan chair, walked a few steps quickly to pick up Rong Zhu, who was kneeling on the ground, and said: "Rong County Shou does not have to be polite, the imperial court has a clear edict about the new policy, the county king and the county guard are not monarchs and ministers, Rong County Shou must not make such a big gift." ”

"Your Highness, how are you doing?" Rongzhu choked up a little. Rongzhu is the most favored courtier of Emperor Longwu, and he is also the niece and son-in-law of Empress Xuanren, so he is very diligent with Emperor Longwu's family, and he is naturally very familiar with Xiaojia. Suddenly, Emperor Longwu collapsed, and he was changed from the prince to the king of the county, during which the ups and downs and tribulations were incomprehensible to ordinary people. Rongzhu not only misses Emperor Longwu, but also feels aggrieved and incomprehensible for what happened to Xiaojia, and at the same time thinks of the grievances suffered by his eldest son Rongya, as well as the uncertain fate of Rongyong, he has mixed feelings in his heart, and really wants to cry to release his anger.

But Xiao Jia shook Rongzhu's arms with both hands, smiled and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine." All the best! "It's a special kind of linguistic cue. It shows that there is nothing wrong at the moment, but it also shows that it is not appropriate to have an in-depth conversation at this time.

Rong Zhu immediately controlled his emotions and said in a different tone: "Your Highness has been tired of saddle horses all the way, but it seems that he is still in good spirits. Can the princess and the princes adapt all the way? ”

Xiao Jia smiled and said, "I am also a person who came from the pommel horse, and my heart is more enjoyable this way." It's just that the princess is quite tired. In this way, let's leave it at this today, I'll go back to the palace to do some work, and rest early. I'm going to have a sacrifice tomorrow, and we'll see you again, right?" ”

Rong Zhu glanced at Xiao Jia, nodded and said, "Everything is subject to His Highness's orders." Your Highness, the Princess, and the princes should settle down and rest as soon as possible. The lower officials will not bother His Highness. ”

Xiao Jia said goodbye, then turned around and boarded the sedan chair, and went to the palace of Canaan.

The second day was the first great sacrifice after the arrival of the king of Canaan. Previously, Rongzhu had already settled everything in place with Grandmaster (2).

The sacrifice is not trivial, it is a major event related to the dignity of the royal family, the social and legal system, as usual, the county guard, the county officer, the captain, the long history, the history of the gongcao, the five senses, the history of the peng, and other officials of more than 500 stone must participate.

The sacrifice is set at the right time of the morning, in order to take the meaning of "in the sunrise, the society will continue forever".

When it was time to sacrifice, Xiao Jia took Rong Zhu and all the officials who participated in the sacrifice to the ancestral hall with a high-sounding sound, and the ceremony completed the sacrifice ceremony without any difference.

As the supreme administrator of coexistence and division with the county king, Rongzhu has always been close to Xiao Jia, and he hopes that Xiao Jia can give him some private words, even if it is a hint of contact eyes.

However, Xiao Jia did not react at all, nor did he say a word. He didn't say anything other than a few routine conversations with the Grandmaster and asking about the management of the ancestral hall.

At the end of the sacrifice, Xiao Jia left in a sedan chair. However, He Lu, the Lang Zhong Order (3) of the Canaan County Palace, stayed behind and passed on the royal order of the Jiajia from generation to generation: Please Rongzhu and the subordinate officials of the original County Shoufu go to the Canaan County Palace tomorrow to handle the handover.

So, on the second day, Rongzhu took a pair of officials to the palace of Canaan County, briefly introduced the territory, region, folk customs, and products of Canaan County, and handed over the captains and other military positions that were originally under the jurisdiction of the county to Xiaojia.

In addition to the etiquette that should be fulfilled, there is still not a word.

Rongzhu was a little anxious in his heart. He needed to talk to Xiao Jia and get to know more about the situation in the Holy Capital. However, he knows better that Xiao Jia is an extremely sensitive figure, and he doesn't know how many emperors and Yu Yuan's eyes are planted around him, and if he is not careful, he may die without a place to be buried. The reason why the crops are so cautious is really to survive.

Just when he was anxiously waiting and helpless, one evening, when Rong Zhu Ping retreated left and right, and was reading absently in the center of the study, a cloud pigeon slowly flew towards him.

This is a letter from the king of Xiangtingjun.

There are no words on the silk brought by the cloud pigeon's leg. This is MeSign at the highest level. Rong Cast came to the secret room, and after smearing the silk with secret potion, the terrifying handwriting was revealed:

"Beiling sent people to pretend to be Nangong guards to intercept and kill the cliff on the way to Sanye Island, and sent his left capital Hou Huifang to save the cliff, and at the same time ordered the person who pretended to be the Nangong guard to falsely claim that he was the emperor and sent by Luo Yuan. Hunfang persuaded the cliff to abscond and buried his name incognito in Beiling, and the cliff was dangerous. He is now out of danger. Yu has sent someone to escort the cliff to the island of Shamrock. Hunfang also told the cliff that the first emperor was trying to poison him with Ganzi and other county kings. He went to Canaan with all his hopes and prudence. In addition, Ya once reminded Beiling that someone wanted to poison the white jade cup of Taimiao, but Beiling did not remind Ganzi, and afterwards specifically instructed Ya not to tell others. ”

Although the letter is short, there is too much information in it that is too important.

Rongzhu felt that he had to have a deep talk with Xiao Jia as soon as possible.

On the second day, Rongzhu sent his official Rong Er to the Canaan County King's Mansion and Lang Zhong Ling He Lu said that Rongzhu would take his son Rongtanu to hunt in the Tailuo Duolin for three days from tomorrow, and wanted to invite the King of Canaan to go with him, but I don't know if the King of Canaan County would like to go.

Xiao Jia agreed. However, there was also a royal decree: hunting was a private activity, and no one from the labor office was allowed. Rongzhu only brought household officials and family members, and Xiao Jia himself only carried internal servants and guards. Tomorrow will depart at the end of the day.

On the second day, Rong Zhu took Rong Tanu, fifty family members, five old hunters, and Xiao Jia with his second son Xiao Ze, Lang Zhongling He Lu, ten chamberlains, and fifty guards, and set off for the Tairodo Forest together.

"This is the third child in your family, what's your name? I've seen Rongya, Rongyong, and Rongyun, but this is the first time I've seen it. Xiao Jia and Rongzhu rode horses side by side, looking at Rongtanu who was riding a Canaanite pony next to Rongzhu and said.

Rongtanu didn't speak, but his eyes were wide open, staring at Xiao Ze, who was riding a Canaanite pony next to him.

"Your Highness, this is a courtier Danu. He was born only after I came to Canaan, and he is only six years old this year, so His Highness has never seen him. ”

"Oh, six. Nadanu was a year younger than Ze'er. Ze'er, you go, go with Tanu, and talk well. ”

"Oh, Father." Xiao Ze turned the horse's head, walked to the side of the slave very obediently, and said, "I am Xiao Ze." ”

"I'm Rondanu."

"Your name is so strange, why is it called Tanu? I've never heard anyone call it like that. It's weird! Xiao Ze asked suspiciously.

Xiao Jia frowned and said, "Ze'er, don't be rude." He bowed his head in frustration.

Rong Zhu smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't blame Xiao Shizi for thinking that the name of the slave is strange. Anu, originally a Canaanite dialect, means longevity. Xiao Shizi came from the Holy Capital and had never heard the Canaanite dialect, so he felt strange, which was really normal. ”

Rongzhu relieved the siege for Xiao Ze. Xiao Ze finally showed a smile, and seeing that his father no longer blamed himself for being rude, he and Tanu rode to the side on the Canaanite pony to play.

Xiao Jia looked at Xiao Ze and Danu, and said with a smile: "The meaning of this name is good. Longevity! Well! Oh, by the way, how did you like hunting? I remember when you were in the Holy Capital, you didn't have this preference. ”

"Your Highness has a good memory. This was a habit that only came after the arrival of Canaan. Your Highness, there are many forests in Canaan, the earth is warm, and the vegetation is vigorous all year round, so there are many wild beasts in the forest. In this Canaanite, almost every household can hunt, and everyone likes to hunt. His Highness is now in Canaan, and within a year, the custodian will also enjoy hunting. ”

"It's much lighter to go out for a walk than to stay in the palace and the palace. Did you train after you arrived in Canaan? ”

"Less practice. The people of Canaan are simple and simple, the indoctrination has not yet been opened, everyone believes in the white religion, and likes to live a pure and good life, coupled with the suitable climate of Canaan, and the abundance of products, the common people live a relatively rich life, and there are few cases of rebellion. In the more than eight years since I arrived in Canaan, there has not been a single criminal case, and even theft rarely happens on weekdays. ”

"It's a paradise on earth. My father sent you here back then, which shows that he has a preference for you. ”

"The emperor's long, the minister will remember it for the rest of his life. However, the original intention of the first emperor to send me here was not to let me come to rest, but to let me look at the White Sect. ”

"Oh? White Holy See? For the sake of a White Sect, the father sent the first rank general. Could it be that there is something unusual about the White Holy See? How had I never heard a report like this before? I've never heard my father mention it? ”

"Not really. However, the White Religion has developed rapidly in recent years. Needless to say in Canaan, since the White Church is in Canaanite, almost everyone in Canaanite believes in the White Religion. The prestige of the successive popes in the hearts of the Canaanite people was like that of a god, and it was difficult for successive emperors to attain it. Even the first emperor, in Canaan, cannot be compared with the Xuanyang Pope. There are secret methods in the White Sect that are not spread to the outside world, and the Pope's decree can be transmitted to the bishops of the counties and countries in an instant, and the internal decree of the White Sect is forbidden and must not be violated. So far, there have been as many as 56 generations of popes, stretching for thousands of years, and their influence is extremely great. The first emperor was worried that once the White Sect revolted, the imperial court might not be able to deal with it. Therefore, the first emperor sent me here, not to suppress chaos, but to find out the truth and prepare in advance. ”

"So serious? Do you find these signs in your eight years in Canaan? ”

"After I came to Canaan, I deliberately had a deep friendship with the Xuanyang Pope and knew him quite well. In my opinion, the Pope Xuanyang is a man of high morals and does not have any intention of causing trouble. But I have also gradually discovered that the White Sect is indeed very powerful, and it would be extremely terrifying if any pope was not virtuous or ambitious enough to cause chaos. Therefore, whether the White Sect is a threat or not has a great deal to do with the Pope personally. ”

"Is there a way to restrain that?"

"It's hard. Take Canaan as an example, if the government wants to forcefully suppress the white religion forces, let alone whether this suppression can be effective, just the opposition and resistance of the common people will make it difficult for the government to move an inch. In the previous dynasty, there were several generations of Canaan county kings, who wanted to suppress the White Sect and the Pope and improve the authority of the county kings, but as a result, they were generally resisted by the people, and in the end it was difficult to even collect taxes. In the eight years I have been in Canaan, I have always respected the Pope and allowed the people to believe in religion. Probably because of this, the people still recognize me, and I am quite comfortable with governance. That's one of the reasons why I don't train much anymore. ”

"Oh. It is better to block than to be sparse, and it is better to be sparse. Indeed, your way of governing the county is the most clever. ”

"Your Highness has won the prize."

"When you mention that, I feel a little bit of a feeling. The Holy Metropolitan Bishop seems to have some ambitions. When the first emperor was there, he did not treat this holy capital bishop very much, but he often went in and out of the palaces of princes, clans, and ministers, and had a great influence among them. Moreover, the great star of the imperial court is a disciple of Shu Yan. Their influence can be seen in this. If they want to make trouble, they don't have to make too much effort, and directly ask the Great Dian Star to write to the court in the name of celestial phenomena, which will cause great trouble. ”

"Your Highness knows the subtlety, and the country is very fortunate. The Worries of the White Religion ......"

"Be careful! I'm just the king of a county, where can I manage so much. That's all we have to say today that I will talk about the Holy Capital. In the future, we must pay attention to what we say, and don't mention the affairs of the imperial court, the holy capital, or even the political and military affairs in the county. I will also learn to hunt, be like an idle clan, be a chic person, and raise my body for a few years. ”

"Yes, Your Highness. That's what I'm talking about. ”

"It doesn't matter! How do you rest at night? ”

"The Canaan forest is full of vegetation, and there are too many snakes and insects at night, so we all live in tree houses."

"What is a treehouse?"

"It is to pitch a small tent on the branches of a great tree and rest on it."

"Rest in the trees? How can that be safe and stable? ”

"Your Highness doesn't know that the beech trees in the Canaan forest have very large trunks, ten or twenty times larger than those hundred-year-old dragon cypresses in the Holy Capital, these beech trees have a fragrance, can avoid snakes and insects, and are the best place to rest at night."

"Then I'm really longing for it. How many people can live in a treehouse? After speaking, he looked at Rongzhu.

Rong Zhu saw Xiao Jia's eyes, but he didn't look directly at Xiao Jia's eyes, smiled and said, "The biggest can put two people." His Highness lives alone in a large tree house. ”

He rolled his eyes away and said, "That's very good." ”

Rongzhu also said: "Tanu accompanies Xiao Shizi to live in a big tree house, so that they can take care of each other. ”

Xiao Jia didn't speak, smiled and nodded.

Concentrate:

1. Captain: A subordinate official in the county, in charge of military affairs.

2. Grandmaster: The official in charge of the affairs of the clan and the temple in the county.

3. Lang Zhongling: The highest official in the county king's mansion.