Guan Zhuofan moved a horse and sat in front of his Zhongjun tent in the Dongying horse team, watching Túrin sharpen his knife for him. This is a handicraft job, the angle between the blade and the whetstone, the amount of water poured on the knife, and the amount of strength used, are all particular. This hand, Guan Zhuofan really can't, thinking to himself, it seems that this is not a physical memory.

"Master," Tulin carefully dried the blade of the knife with a handkerchief, held it horizontally with both hands, and handed it to Guan Zhuofan, "Take a look." ”

Guan Zhuofan took the knife and saw that the blade was sharpened and bright, and even the four words "Guan San Zhuofan" on the knife body were wiped brightly.

"Daniel Zhang——!" He dragged out his voice and shouted lazily, and saw Mr. Zhang Qian, who was not trained today, hurriedly got out of the tent, ran to the front and stood still.

"Boss!"

Guan Zhuofan put the knife across his lap and turned it gently, finally reflecting the sunlight on Daniel Zhang's face, flashing his eyes.

"Hey, boss, are you in a good mood today?" Daniel Zhang said with a smile.

Since he came back from hearing the news from Cao Yuying last night, Guan Zhuofan has indeed been in a good mood.

Shengbao's Qincha Xingyuan was placed five miles away from the palace, accompanied by officials of the Ministry of Rites, in front of the Zigong Palace of Emperor Daxing, howling loudly, crying until the sky was dark, so that the entire palace knew that he Shengbao was coming.

The appearance of Shengbao, and the joint invitation to the Anjizi, brought great pressure to the ministers of Gu Ming. It has always been the only way to ask the emperor for peace, how can there be a rule for foreign ministers to ask the queen mother for peace and folds?

But Shengbao just did it! The 1,000 horses he brought with him, although there were not many people, was still a formidable force compared to the weak forbidden army of Rehe. More importantly, it was the attitude of the banner generals represented by Sheng Bao and Wen Yu that made Su Shun finally realize that he had not yet reached the point where he could do whatever he wanted.

After weighing it like this, I had to suppress the activated dissent for the time being, and let go of the hand that was pinching the neck of the two palaces.

"The Queen Mother of the Two Palaces also took a step," Cao Yuying said to Guan Zhuofan, "In the future, the two palaces will only look at it and not say anything, and how to deal with it will be decided by the Minister of Gu Ming." ”

"Take a step back and open the sky, Lord Cao's plan is great." Guan Zhuofan returned to his respectful appearance.

"Yixuan, there are no outsiders here, so you don't have to be polite, this time, you have the greatest credit." Cao Yuying looked at him with a smile, "Young man, it is very rare to be able to be obscure and not arrogant." I can't see it, you are silent, but you have made friends with Xiao Anzi. ”

Guan Zhuofan could hear that although Cao Yuying praised him, there was also a sharp edge in his words. When it comes to wisdom, naturally Jiang is still old and spicy, and he asked himself that he was far from being able to compare with Cao Yuying. But to become a prophet of history as a time traveler, this kind of thing, even ten Cao Yuying, can't do it.

He didn't want to talk more about this topic, so he opened a note: "It also depends on the speed of the fourth uncle." ”

"Well, the credit of Sheng Kezhai will be rewarded in the future," Cao Yuying nodded and took a deep breath, "Next, it's up to the prince." ”

Prince Gong's invitation to the palace is a thing that the minister can no longer refuse. As the emperor's elder brother, he was not allowed to see him before his death, and if no one was allowed to cry in front of the spirit after death, it would be a thing that could not be said anywhere.

King Gong is here, and the most important thing is to find a way to meet the queen mother of the two palaces and talk about what they mean to each other. Guan Zhuofan knows that this can't be done through him and An Dehai, just like the two ** bosses, the most important transaction must be an interview, and it is impossible to rely on the communication between the younger brothers to make Zuihou's final decision.

The rest should be left to those of us with knives. Guan Zhuofan thought of this, looked at the saber on his lap, looked up at Daniel Zhang again, and said with a smile: "Your knife should also be sharpened often, don't wait until you want to use it, you can't make it hard." ”

Daniel Zhang screamed, and pulled out half of the knife at his waist, which was also considered a bright knife. He put the knife back in its sheath, smacked his lips and said, "I don't know when it will be used, maybe there will be another horse bandit?" "The last time he didn't catch up with the battle against the horse bandits, he has always been haunted.

Guan Zhuofan made a gesture, let Daniel Zhang squat beside him, and asked in a low voice: "How are the original officers in your battalion now?" ”

Seeing that he suddenly talked about business, Daniel Zhang paused for a moment, and also whispered back: "Everything else is fine, that is, Jilantai and Yu Bing, a captain, a sentry commander, I can't eat accurately, I dare not pack tickets." ”

Guan Zhuofan didn't speak, his fingers slowly slid across the cold spine.

*

*

The relationship between the empress dowager of the two palaces and the minister of Gu Ming suddenly became harmonious, and even Cixi no longer expressed any opinion on the daily tribute. Every time the minister would write a haode edict and use it to "ask the queen mother for instructions", the two queen mothers always used the seal happily, saying, "You can do it according to you." As for the hard work of the minister, there are often warm words of comfort, faintly expressing regret that he once made a fuss.

The queen mother is such an attitude that the ministers who take care of their lives have involuntarily changed, and the original way of speaking loudly is gone, replaced by respectfulness in the etiquette system. In this way, it is more harmonious, and even the most stubborn Su Shun feels that this is a situation worth cherishing, so he took the decision to add three thousand taels of silver to each of the two queen mothers in return. At the same time, their precautionary intentions and vigilance in the two palaces have gradually shifted to the military affairs outside.

In such a harmonious atmosphere, Prince Yi of Heshuo Gong finally came to Rehe from Xuanhe.

Su Shun's hospitality to King Gong was extremely attentive. He felt that now that his steps had been steady, he could show the greatest generosity and care for this frustrated opponent in the palace struggle. Therefore, although King Gong was expected to stay for only three days, Su Shun still ordered someone to decorate the mansion where King Gong stayed meticulously and luxuriously.

Let everyone in the world see their bearing! Su Shun thought so. He took the ministers and a group of officials, deigned to stand outside King Gong's mansion, and waited for King Gong's convoy.

I haven't seen each other for a year, holding hands and asking each other, and each other is full of emotion.

"Sixth brother!" King Gong's eyes turned red first, and he said very sincerely, "How do you say this, less than a year, the vicissitudes of life, the first emperor ......"

"Sixth, please mourn." Su Shun comforted him and said, "This year, thanks to you maintaining the situation in the capital, everything is in order, and the first emperor will go to Japan, and there is nothing that cannot be relieved." ”

Su Shun and King Gong are the same generation, each of them is Xingliu, and Su Shun is older, so King Gong wants to call him "Sixth Brother", and Su Shun can call him "Old Six". As soon as the first sentence was spoken, it set the tone for today, not the etiquette of officialdom, but the homely gift of the flag people. King Gong spoke to Su Shun, and then greeted Zaiyuan, Duanhua and other relatives one by one. The flag people are polite, everyone wants the parents to have a short conversation, chattering for a while, and it took half an hour to enter the mansion and sit down together. This seems to outsiders to be incredible, but this group of people, including Su Shun, is accustomed to it and is at ease.

That night, King Gong was invited to the east banquet by Zaiyuan, and the ministers above the three grades in Rehe came to accompany him. During the conversation, Su Shun talked about the various situations in Rehe, King Gong talked about all kinds of things in the capital, and as for the most important arrangements for returning to Luan, it was necessary to wait for King Gong to bow to the Zigong Palace, and then formally talk. After dinner, King Gong went back to the mansion early to rest, and all the visitors were gone.

The next day is the day to bow to the Daxing Emperor Zigong. King Gong changed into a white cloth filial piety robe, accompanied by everyone, and walked all the way to the Zigong Palace, which is the Jingcheng Hall where the coffin of Emperor Daxing was parked. When he arrived at the entrance of the hall, he was already walking messily, full of tears, and he took a few steps to rush into the hall, and saw the black and heavy golden silk nanmu coffin placed in the middle of the hall.

He and his fourth brother, who have been friendly since childhood, fought for the throne in the past, canonized the death of the queen mother, entangled grievances, and mixed tastes, all poured out in this cry.

After a long time, he collected his tears under the persuasion of everyone, and slowly walked out of the Jingcheng Palace, which was regarded as completing the great ceremony of bowing to the Zi Palace. thanked everyone one by one, and before he could say anything else, Huang Jingzhong, the chief eunuch who was waiting on the side, came over and invited a chief an.

"The two queen mothers, I want to invite Prince Gong to go in and see him, and inquire about the situation in Tianshui Hutong and Fangjiayuan."