A moment later.

Tai Chi Palace.

In the study room in the Taiji Palace, Li Zhi and his son sat a few times apart, teaching the six-year-old Li Hong's calligraphy to be regular.

"Father, does Hong'er want to practice Feibai first...... Otherwise, will the right army be able to write a book...... Father ...... Li Hong, who had practiced Cao Quan's tablet extension for a while, felt bored, so he immediately became coquettish.

When Li Zhi heard this, he was not angry, but smiled faintly at his son and said, "Hong'er thinks that his book is in order!" ”

"This natural ...... Even Mrs. Xu said that Hong'er's book style is very regular! Li Hong said triumphantly.

"Xu Jingzong?" Li Zhi smiled at the corner of his mouth, and said, "Okay, since that's the case, then Hong'er makes a bet with his father, okay?" If the father loses, the father will immediately ask your mother to send Lan Tingxu to you to play. If the father wins...... Then you have to listen to your father's teachings, okay? ”

"Good! How to bet? Li Hong was immediately interested.

Li Zhi smiled, whispered a few words in Xiao'er's ear, and heard Li Hong nod again and again.

A moment later, in the main hall of the Taiji Palace, Xu Jingzong hurriedly entered the palace because of Li Zhi's edict and returned to the revision of the national ceremony. After Li Zhi heard this, he also praised him for a few words, and then looked at his sloppy and said: "Speaking of which, Xu Qing's book style is very neat!" It's no wonder that Hong'er has made great progress in his book style in recent days. ”

Xu Jingzong smiled, and after thanking him repeatedly, he heard Li Zhi say again: "Aiqing doesn't need to be humble...... In my opinion, the body of those Hong'er's books, every word is Aiqing's work! ”

When Xu Jingzong heard this, he followed Li Zhi's gaze to the randomly placed paper on the side of the book, so he got up with a smile, walked to pick it up, and looked at it twice before he smiled: "The lord said this, but it was a torture for the old minister...... These words are clearly not written by His Royal Highness the Prince, but by the Lord. ”

Li Zhi raised his eyebrows: "Where did this come from?" ”

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's book style is neat and the writing style is outstanding, and it is indeed the longest among several royal highnesses, and even among the young people of the royal family. But in the end, His Royal Highness is still young, and his pen power is weak, and when he is in charge, although he does his best, it is rare to have such a feeling of pen strength penetrating the back of the paper.

Although these characters are written on the Cao Quan stele that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is practicing, it seems that the strokes are very similar, but there is no trace of His Royal Highness the Prince's fireworks.

And if you look closely, it is clear and natural, and it has to get rid of the shape of heaven and earth, which means that it is ancient and clumsy, and the meaning of chic and natural creation has been detached from its body and beyond its god.

Since the first emperor was in the time, all the famous calligraphers, but when talking about the official books of the legal system, they all said that in addition to the lord, only Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan could get such a sharp divine will. It was the first emperor of the year, as Ouyang Xun said, in the Lishu is only longer than its shape, and far from its god, although the first emperor is quite good at the book, but also made a flying white one, but not as long as the Lord who was still the king of Jin was longer than the Lishu.

So the old minister dared to say that this is by no means something that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can write, but it is written by the lord on behalf of the lord-

After all, when the lord was four years old, because of the order of the first queen's mother, to the fourteen-year-old emperor's order, Xi Cao Quanbei's Lan Pavilion and the two laws of the two laws, no matter how deliberately cover up, but it is not comparable to the strength of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in just three years. ”

Xu Jingzong is very smart, and naturally knows that in front of an extremely smart person like Li Zhi, blindly touting it is not true, which will only make him look down on himself. So he's just telling the facts......

And what Li Zhi wants is precisely this fact - although he is not proud, he also knows that his efforts in Lishu have not been in vain.

So he nodded and thanked him with a smile, rewarded him with something and said with a smile: "In this way, it is time for me to urge Hong'er to practice Lishu." The so-called subordinate is also the source of the laws of later generations. If you don't practice well in official writing, how can you learn the regular script (regular script), further enter the industry, and then learn the flying white method? And this Cao Quan monument is also the cornerstone of the official book. If he doesn't practice well, he is afraid that he will suffer a big loss in the future. ”

Xu Jingzong said yes again and again, and said that from now on, he will do his best to urge Li Hongyan to practice. So, Li Zhi said two more words to him and let him go.

Xu Jingzong left the hall with his front foot, and Li Hong turned from behind the dragon throne with his back foot, looking unhappy, and said indignantly: "Hmph! No wonder my uncle said that this Xu Jingzong is a villain...... Sure enough, he is both yin and yang! Such a person really can't stay! ”

Li Zhi shook his head and smiled: "Xu Jingzong is indeed a villain, but villains also have villains to use. As long as you are sure that he can't see through what you think and plan, as long as you are careful, don't let him break your plan in turn. ”

Li Hong glanced at Li Zhi, but did not speak.

Li Zhi raised his eyebrows, stretched out his hand to pull him into his arms and hugged him, but said with a smile: "Do you think my father did something wrong?" ”

"Such a villain...... Leave it to destroy the community. Li Hong said unhappily: "What's more, Sage Yun, as a gentleman, you should avoid walking with villains." ”

"No saint has ever said such a thing! If you want to say that your father shouldn't be in the same stream, just say it! You're just clever. Li Zhi laughed, scratched his son's little nose, then let him sit up straight, and said: "The usefulness of Xu Jingzong, my father will tell you slowly in the future." But now, you tell your father, do you know where you are not doing it? ”

“…… Know. ”

"Would you like to practice well?"

“…… If the father told Hong'er why he had to keep this villain, Hong'er would practice hard. ”

"You kid ......" Li Zhi couldn't cry or laugh, shook his head for a while and said, "That's it, it's good to let you know......"

He thought about it for a while, but asked Li Hongdao: "A few days ago, my father gave you a pony, do you remember?" ”

"This is natural."

"Then the father asks you, if anyone tells you that your father needs a pony as a sacrifice when he marches to sacrifice the flag, so he wants you to sacrifice this pony...... Are you willing to do it? ”

"Why? That pony is very smart and aura, and his feet are super strong, how can such a good horse be taken to sacrifice the flag? ”

"What if the man said that this military expedition was so important that there must be a living soul to make a sacrifice?"

"Then why not find a horse that is too sick to survive? Hong'er heard that since his father ascended the throne, there have been flag-sacrificing things in the army, and they have only used old horses who have been tortured by illness and are about to reach the limit? ”

"If someone asks you why you have to use an old horse?"

"The old horse has always been afflicted with sickness, and if it is only to suffer every day, it is better to have a good time early. What's more, Hong'er often hears that when the old horse in the army is about to die of a serious illness, most of them will lie under the military flag by themselves, and end up according to the flag, which is actually the meaning of sacrificing the flag...... Therefore, let them sacrifice the flag, firstly, to relieve their pain, secondly, to borrow their ambition and heroic soul that has fought on the battlefield for many years, and thirdly, to give them a place to return to in their lives. ”

"That's it."

"What is it? What the father meant, Hong'er didn't understand......"

"In the eyes of others, the sick old horse is useless, and it is generally just left to die of its own illness. In fact, however, they are still quite useful to them. It's not just horses, it's people, too. When Hong'er wants to govern the country in the future, he needs to understand one thing - whether it is a loyal minister, a courtier, or a traitor...... They all have something to use. It's just a matter of whether you can use it or not. ”

"Rigoletto's ** minister can also be used?"

"Why not? Think about it, courtiers, those who play with power—just like this Xu Jingzong now. It seems that he is a flattering villain who tends to be inflammatory. But think about it, if it weren't for his existence, how could there be anyone in the court who would always think about his father's thoughts, help his father to put forward some opinions that his father himself must not speak first, build momentum for his father, and give those who are really born poor but talented and virtuous with both good conduct a chance to go up? Do you count on your uncle? No matter how far-sighted he is, how can he withstand the opposition of this official from the Chinese family or even the direct clan of the Manchu Dynasty? ”

Li Hong blinked, and only after a long time did he say, "Then why don't you let the loyal ministers ......?"

"The first principle of a loyal servant is to be upright. And it is easy to break if it is too rigid, so since ancient times, loyal ministers are easy to offend people and cause trouble of right and wrong...... It's not that there are no people who can break through the way of outer softness and inner rigidity, but such a person has not appeared for a long time. Now the Manchu court is full of loyal ministers who have just passed their heads, do you want them to do it? I'm afraid that they will be hit by those people to the point that they have no intention of pursuing a career. At that time, not only will you not be able to gain great talent, but you will also lose a loyal servant...... Do you think it's appropriate? ”

Li Hong closed his mouth and said after a while: "That traitor...... How do I use it? ”

"Most of the traitors are collaborators with the enemy and abandon the country, or they are ill-intentioned. And such a person is very practical, but it is greatly beneficial to my Datang. ”

Li Zhi paused, and said lightly for a while: "Because this kind of person is actually a touchstone in your hand, you can use it to easily test which of the countless civil and military ministers in the court and the central government can really be entrusted with both life and family and country." ”

Li Hong suddenly nodded and said: "Hong'er understands, the so-called traitors are self-righteous people, just look at the people who are in the same stream with him, or who are interested in flattering, you will know who is the loyal traitor in the court, who is the pillar of optimus, and who is the rat who destroys the foundation." ”

Li Zhi nodded and said with a smile: "My son is smart." ”

Just as he was saying this, he suddenly saw Li Dexuan hurriedly entering, bowed to Li Zhi, and said in a low voice: "Lord, the minister has something to do, and he needs to play alone." ”

Li Zhi saw that his expression was solemn, and he immediately realized in his heart, so he retreated with Li Hong.

As soon as Li Hong left, Li Dexuan took a few steps forward and said in a low voice: "Lord, Uncle Yuan is going to do something to the two people in the longevity shop." ”

When Li Zhi heard this, he didn't raise his head, and only said lightly after a while: "How did my uncle know about this, do you know?" ”

Li Decheng was stunned and blinked-although Li Zhi's sentence was a question, for some reason there was a meaning that he knew the answer early.

Li Zhi didn't raise his head, only reached out and picked up a note from the small box on the side, looked at it, and then handed it to Li De.

Li De took it, glanced at it, and his expression changed greatly: "This ......"

"So, master, you didn't say anything about it, and I don't know...... Got it? ”

Li Zhi's eyes were burning, and he looked at Li De Award with a hesitant face: "Two sick horses that are already dying, but the sacrificial flag is just right for them." ”

Silent, Li Decheng sighed for a long time, thanked him, and left the hall a little distracted.

Li Zhi closed his eyes and was silent for a long time, before he sighed to himself, and when he opened his eyes again, there was a trace of guilt and ruthlessness.