In the palace, Zhu Qiyu's joy in the past few days was also washed clean by this sudden funeral, and in addition to shock, there was also a little sadness on his face.

Although he and Xu Xianzong had not met a few times, and it was still when he was a teenager, he could not help but feel sorry when he thought that a pillar loyal to the Ming court died so young.

After a long silence, the emperor asked the people from the Wei Mansion who came to report the funeral: "Is everything okay in Nanjing now?" Didn't there be any trouble because of the matter of Wei Guogong, right? ”

"Your Majesty, rest assured, everything in Nanjing City is as before, and the second son of my family has already sent a note to each yamen to keep their own duties."

"Chengzong, he's grown a lot." The emperor still had some impressions of Xu Chengzong, who had entered Beijing on behalf of his brother a few years ago, and couldn't help but sigh at this time: "This time, I have to rely on him to help me watch it in Nanjing." By the way, there is no mention of the candidate to inherit the Duke of Wei on this note, what is going on? ”

"Back to Your Majesty's words, because my father-in-law has a difficult heir, and he has not had a son and a half daughter until now." The visitor hurriedly explained: "I thought that my grandfather was still in his prime and was not in a hurry, but I didn't expect it to ......."

"Is that so?" When the emperor heard this, he sighed again, and even had a little idea of sympathy in his heart. He himself is also a difficult heir, until now he is only one son, Zhu Jianji, and he is six years old, and his health is still not very good, which always makes him feel uneasy.

Then, he said: "In this way, it is impossible for the title of Duke of Wei to be passed down in the line of Xu Xianzong...... Chengzong is his second brother, and he is also a descendant, right? ”

"Exactly." When the visitor heard the intention hidden in these words, his heart beat fast, and he hurriedly lowered his head.

The emperor really did not disappoint him, and quickly said: "In this case, the title of Duke of Wei can only be won by brother and brother, and Chengzong will take over the throne." I will let the Ministry of Rites draw up a will as soon as possible and send it to Nanjing, you go back first and tell Chengzong that he can keep Nanjing well, and don't be too sad because of my brother's affairs. ”

"The Han family of the ministers thank Your Majesty for your grace." This messenger is also Xu Chengzong's cronies, and now after getting the emperor's intention to crown him as the Duke of Wei, he is naturally very happy, but he doesn't dare to show too much on his face, so he can only kowtow a few times.

"You don't have to be like this." The emperor waved his hand and said: "Also, the Duke of Wei has always been loyal and rigorous, and he is a meritorious minister of my Ming Dynasty. In the near future, I will send someone to Nanjing to pay tribute on my behalf, and when you go back, let them prepare. ”

"Obey." After kowtowing respectfully to the emperor a few times, the visitor withdrew.

It wasn't until the mourner left that Lu Zhen stepped forward: "Your Majesty, if you have a reluctant request, I hope Your Majesty will grant it." ”

After learning that someone in Nanjing had come to report the funeral, Lu Zhen immediately came to the palace. In addition to the message, there is another idea.

When the emperor heard this, he was slightly surprised. In fact, he still hasn't figured out the purpose of Lu Jin's entry into the palace today, so after hesitating for a while, he still nodded and said, "Lu Qing said it's okay." ”

"The minister wants to go on this trip on behalf of His Majesty and go to Nanjing to pay tribute to the Duke of Wei."

"How could Lu Qing have such an idea?" The Emperor looked at him with some puzzlement. Because according to common sense, this kind of errand has no merit, let alone any benefit, except for the officials in the Ministry of Rites who can't shirk their responsibilities, no one else will fight. What's more, driving people to mourn is something that makes people feel evasive after all, and few people will take the initiative to make it up.

Lu Zhen explained: "Although the minister has no friendship with the Duke of Wei, and he has never even met in person, he has always respected him for his loyalty to the country. In addition, the minister and the second son of the Xu family, Chengzong, have been friends for many years, and now that his brother has passed away, the minister always has to pay homage as a friend. Therefore, I hope that Your Majesty will grant the invitation of the ministers. ”

"Is that so?" Zhu Qiyu glanced at Lu Jin, and his eyes showed appreciation.

He is a person with a lot of feelings, otherwise he would not have regarded Lu Zhen as the most trusted courtier all these years. So he naturally hopes that Lu Zhen is such a person. Now that Lu Zhen is talking like this, it just satisfies his thoughts, and makes him look at this courtier twice: "Since it is a piece of your heart, I naturally don't allow it." If it's peaceful today, and the Yamen of the Ministry of War is not as busy as before, you can indeed take this trip for me. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your success." Lu Zhen saw that the emperor had approved, so he hurriedly thanked him.

The emperor waved his hand: "No need to be polite, this is not a grace." As he spoke, he was stunned again, and then looked at Lu Jinlai with a smile, and saw that the latter felt uncomfortable for a while: "Your Majesty, what does this mean?" ”

"You tell me honestly, do you want to go to Nanjing just to do your friend's duty?" The emperor looked at him solemnly and asked.

Lu Zhen was stunned for a moment, and then smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty is really as wise as a torch, the minister is guilty, and the minister actually has another reason to think about leaving the capital." ”

"Is it because of the officials who have been gathering outside your palace these days waiting to be seen?" Zhu Qiyu asked clearly. There is nothing new in the capital, and it is naturally impossible to hide such a fanfare from His Majesty the Emperor.

Lu Zhen had to nod and admit: "The minister is really annoyed, so I thought of going out of Beijing to take refuge temporarily, and I hope that Your Majesty will forgive me." ”

"You've done a good job, why should I blame you?" The emperor laughed: "If other courtiers are changed, so many people are willing to take refuge in him, and he is too busy forming a party to accept it." It's good that you avoided it, which was really an eye-opener for me. So instead of blaming you, I want to reward you. ”

Hearing the emperor say this, Lu Zhen secretly pinched a cold sweat in his heart. Obviously, the Son of Heaven is very resistant to such things, and his approach this time is obviously right for him. Otherwise, if he took advantage of this opportunity to do something to form a party, even if the emperor didn't say it now, he would have a pimple in his heart. In this way, there will naturally be a gap between the monarch and the minister, and it will no longer be as frank as before.

The minister was terrified. In fact, the minister does intend to accept some like-minded officials to contribute to the country. However, most of these people who came to meet in front of the minister's door were people who tended to be inflammatory, and what they wanted was not to do things for the country, but to drill camps and be promoted, so the ministers turned them away. Moreover, in the eyes of the minister, this is just the duty of a minister, and he does not dare to be so praised by His Majesty. Lu Jinxi hurriedly explained again.

"You, you still take it too seriously, this is what I appreciate about you, and this is also where I worry about you." The emperor shook his head with concern and said, "I am certainly relieved that you have done this, but you have offended many people in the court. In the past few years, you have made all kinds of contributions to the court, but the rewards are far less than many people, do you know the reason? ”

Lu Zhen said: "It should be because the ministers sometimes act too recklessly and break the rules." For example, a few years ago, he returned to Beijing without authorization, and he also went on a killing spree in Shandong......"

"That's why, but it's not the point. The real thing is that you don't have a party. Even if the status of ordinary courtiers is low, they still have a group of colleagues who advance and retreat together, but you are good, I haven't heard of getting too close to anyone so far. Except for your teacher Hu Butang and your boss Yu Qian, you have no one to rely on, which is an outlier above the court.

"In fact, with your current status, not to mention the protégés and old officials, there should be many officials from you. But as a result, in addition to the officials in Shandong who were promoted by you, only one Lin Lie was recommended by you to any of the general soldiers in Zhejiang. In this way, I am relieved, but it is difficult for those officials in the DPRK and China to get close to you. It's okay to have me by your side, but if something happens, you'll be in a worrying situation. ”

"Your Majesty, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving." Lu Zhen really didn't expect the emperor to see this matter so thoroughly, and his heart was also moved.

Speaking of which, I did go a little too far in this regard. After a few years of being a high-ranking official, there are almost no cronies cultivated by himself. The only Lin Lie was not until he returned to Beijing last year that he asked the emperor for a favor.

This is because Lin Lie really has no interest in Jinyiwei, and he knows military affairs well, so he was recommended by him to go to Zhejiang to become the chief soldier of a town. As for the reason, in addition to the fact that Zhejiang still has some connections there, it is also for the possibility of a Japanese invasion in the future.

"I know all about your loyalty to me, but I want you to understand that I am not the master of many guesses. When the water is clear, there is no fish, I still understand. Therefore, in the future, you don't have to deliberately be the only minister, although the subordinates who should be cultivated are promoted freely, as long as it is beneficial to the imperial court, I will not blame you for a few impeachments. ”

When the emperor's words came to this, Lu Zhen was naturally full of gratitude, and hurriedly knelt on the ground again to thank the Holy Grace. At the end, he asked, "Then ...... the errand to Nanjing this time?"

"Since I have already promised you, how can I change it?" The emperor smiled and shook his head: "You just have to go back and wait for the news, this time to pay tribute to the Duke of Wei and canonize the new Duke of Wei, you are the only one." ”

"Commandment." Lu Jin hurriedly replied.

When the emperor saw it, he smiled again, and stepped forward to help him up with his own hands: "You and I have been friends with the monarch and the minister for many years, and I only hope that we can always get along with the monarch and the minister, and be a pair of virtuous and good ministers who will leave their names in history." ”

The emperor did what he said, and a few days later, an edict was issued appointing Lu Zhen as a messenger to Nanjing. Lu Zhen left Beijing again, temporarily leaving the right and wrong in the court.

But what he didn't know was that in fact, Nanjing City at this time was far from being as comfortable as he thought.

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Although this week can't have the same outbreak as last week, I still have to be cheeky to ask for a recommendation ticket。。。。。 It's Monday, ask for a ticket!!!