A letter sent from the far west made Han Ruzi very angry, and even the joy brought by the queen's pregnancy again was reduced by more than half. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The letter was written by Huang Pugong, with euphemistic and humble wording, and most of the content was to thank the emperor for his kindness, and then he got to the point: he was going to withdraw his troops, and if he did not return to Dachu, he would stay at sea, "looking at his homeland from afar, grateful for the grace of God, and weeping."

Then he found a bunch of reasons, the sea countries are tired of the war and want to return to their own countries, and the Western countries are too contradictory to each other, suspicious of each other, and at the slightest contradiction they will surrender to the enemy army, capricious, unable to unite into a large army.

In addition, the gods and ghosts have declined, and the turtle has shrunk to the northwest corner, which is no longer worth the Chu army's big fight.

In the end, he made a "small" request, hoping that the emperor would officially canonize the king of England, allow him to establish a state overseas, and forever be a vassal to the Great Chu.

Han Ruzi hadn't been so angry for a long time, and slapped it heavily on the table, "Forget about others, Huang Pugong is a hand, and he will be ungrateful!" ”

There were many advisors in the Lingyun Pavilion, and there was only one person who dared to speak when the emperor was angry, Cui Teng asked, "What did Huang Pugong do to make His Majesty so angry?" ”

Han Ruzi waved his hand, Cui Teng limped to the table, picked up the letter and read it, and was also furious, "This bastard, without Your Majesty, he is still a slave of others, and he gets carried away when he gets a little power." Da Chu is gathering troops to prepare for the westward expedition, and he actually wants to withdraw his troops, isn't this a play against the imperial court. And he refused to return to Da Chu, and wanted to assist King Ying overseas! Who knows if the king is real or not, maybe it was Huang Pugong himself who pretended to be him. ”

Cui Teng was furious, but Han Ruzi calmed down, looked at the dozen or so advisors standing in the room, and said in a soothing tone: "Huang Pugong said that the gods and ghosts are not worth making a big deal about, what do you think?" ”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Cui Teng spoke first, "This has nothing to do with whether the turtle shrinks or not, the gods and ghosts dare to invade Great Chu, even if he is thousands of miles away, he must be punished, even if he is sick and dies, he must send the Chu army to drag his body back." ”

The advisers expressed their opinions one by one, and the meaning was similar to Cui Teng, but one was more passionate and generous than the other, and more evidence was found, such as the support of the Huns, and the gods and ghosts would make a comeback sooner or later.

Han Ruzi was bored, except for Zhao Ruosu, few people dared to speak freely in front of him, and what he needed was the truth.

This is often the case, when the throne is unstable, he can often hear the truth, harsh, but beneficial, and now that the throne is stable, everything he hears is flattery and approval.

Zhao Ruosu didn't understand military affairs, and it was useless to ask, Han Ruzi was in a daze and was woken up by Cui Teng.

"Your Majesty, what are you waiting for, the Chu army is ready, let's set off as soon as possible. At least three months, more than a year, will be able to return to Beijing in triumph. ”

"The original plan was to go out at the end of the summer, so there was no need to rush."

"I just can't be angry at Huang Pugong's betrayal, as soon as the Chu army arrives, see if he dares to mention conditions."

"The gods and ghosts are retreating to the northwest, and Huang Pugong is stationed in the southern harbor, thousands ......of miles apart," Han Ruzi shook his head, very disappointed.

Cui Teng had a plan, but he didn't say it.

The emperor was obviously tired, everyone retreated, Cui Teng waited until the end, and when he was the only one left, he stepped forward and whispered: "Your Majesty, Huang Pugong still has his family in the capital." ”

Huang Pugong married a wife before he set out on the expedition, and he stayed in Dachu and did not take it away.

"Huh?"

"Huang Pugong dares to betray His Majesty, His Majesty doesn't need to be benevolent and righteous to him anymore, first put his wife in prison, and then order her to write a letter to see how Huang Pugong reacts, if ......"

"Go! Messing up ideas, dignified, can't tolerate a general's wife? Even if Huang Pugong really betrayed, I would not touch a single hair of his wife. ”

Cui Teng said curtly: "I don't want to be angry for Your Majesty." ”

"You don't have to worry about this kind of thing, there is another thing to explain to you, the queen has a happy ......"

Cui Teng jumped three feet high, sighed after landing, rubbed his injured leg, but his face was full of smiles, "Really? ”

"The imperial doctor confirmed the diagnosis yesterday. From today onwards, you have to be honest, drink less, preferably don't drink, and don't cause trouble, so as not to worry the queen and your mother, understand? ”

Cui Teng's face turned red, "Your Majesty heard about it?" ”

"Just for a woman, she actually fought with someone on the street, and it was spread so much, how could I not have heard of it?"

"It's not for women, it's for a breath......"

"You are my close minister, the general of the Su Guard, as a liege, your sons and nephews are also marquises, and the qi of the world has made your Cui family fight, what else is there to fight for?"

Cui Teng laughed, not daring to argue, but he was not convinced, and finally said: "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm talkative, the arrogance of the Chai family has been very arrogant recently, and their family is also a family of marquis, and Chai Yue commands hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers outside the Saiwai, tsk, how can I be like a general, and none of the eight battalions of the Su Guard are under my control." ”

"Presumptuous, after talking about Huang Pugong, are you going to arrange Chai Yue again?"

"Huang Pugong is Your Majesty'......" Cui Teng hurriedly reined in, "I'd better go, hurry up and go home to tell my mother the good news, and prepare it for the queen." ”

Watching Cui Teng go out, Han Ruzi shook his head helplessly, Cui Teng really didn't make it, otherwise he would never just be a close minister.

When there were no outsiders in the house, Zhang Youcai came in and presented a piece of music with both hands, "Sent by the Qinzheng Palace." ”

This is a concert jointly sent by the prime minister and the Ministry of Rites, reminding the emperor that the palace examination has ended for three days, and it is time to determine the top three candidates, and the list is announced.

The champion is also a troublesome matter, several officials such as the Ministry of Rites Shangshu took a fancy to Nan Guanmei, and the prime minister and other ministers strongly recommended Shen Daxing within the scope of their authority, and the dispute could only be left to the emperor to decide.

Han Ruzi had another person in his heart, he had seen Luo Shifu before, and he had the impression that he was a little shy young man, not the same kind of person as Yang Feng.

Han Ruzi wrote a reply and handed it to Zhang Youcai, asking him to deliver it to the Qinzheng Palace.

The emperor made an unusual request, to summon the ten best candidates in Lingyun Pavilion, ask them face to face, and determine the choice of the champion, and the prime minister and the examiner of the Ministry of Rites were invited to observe.

In addition to the palace examination, there was another "pavilion examination", in the past, the prime minister and the Ministry of Rites would resolutely oppose it, but now it was immediately prepared, and ten candidates were sent to Lingyun Pavilion in the afternoon of the same day.

The prime minister is still Zhuo Ruhe, the Ministry of Rites has changed its newcomer, more than ten ministers have listened to this question, plus ten candidates and more than a dozen eunuchs, the room seems to be very crowded, but it is also lively.

After the ceremony, the emperor gave everyone a flat body, and the eunuchs handed over the written questions to the candidates, and wrote a short answer within two quarters of an hour, and then the emperor asked questions.

The question is simple, but it has nothing to do with the classics, but asks them how they view the situation in the West and the preparations for war in Dachu.

Several candidates immediately frowned, they had been studying hard for more than ten years, and they had memorized the books of sages and sages, but in addition, they had no ears to what was going on outside the window, and they did not understand the situation in the West at all.

But everyone wrote at their desks, at least to make a good impression on the emperor.

The time soon came, the eunuchs took back the test papers and put them on the table, and the prime minister and others unconsciously peeped, all wanting to see how the champion they supported answered.

Han Ruzi read the file on the spot, no matter what he saw, his face was silent, but there was an answer that really made him laugh and pushed it to the prime minister.

Zhuo Ruhe swept it, and the Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites was the chief examiner, so he also came over to take a look, turned his head and said to a candidate: "Liu Jian, Your Majesty is asking about the situation in the West, how to deal with the gods and ghosts, how do you write about the Western Regions?" ”

The examinee's face was pale, and he knelt down, "Xiaosheng...... I ......"

Liu Jie, the central supervisor, received a signal from the emperor and stepped forward and said, "Don't worry, do you know who the gods and ghosts Da Danyu is?" ”

"I've heard, I've heard of it." The candidate said with difficulty.

"How much do you know about the Western countries?"

"Huh?"

Liu Jie glanced at the emperor and said to Liu Jian: "Stand aside and listen to what others say." ”

Liu Jian retreated to the door, trembling all over, looking lost and depressed.

Han Ruzi picked out four mediocre answer sheets, Liu Jie asked these four candidates to also stand at the door, only five people were left waiting for the emperor to ask questions, Nan Guanmei and Shen Daxing were among them, the prime minister and others looked at each other and were satisfied, at least the champion candidates they recommended were not timid.

Among the candidates, Nan Guanmei was the youngest, less than twenty years old, and the emperor asked him first, "Nan Guanmei, you said that Da Chu is not suitable for labor expeditions, and can defeat the enemy, how do you explain it?" ”

Nan Guanmei bowed and replied: "The Chu army's expedition, the emptiness of the country, will give the Huns an opportunity to take advantage of, if the near trouble is not eliminated, how can it be an expedition?" It is better to use Western countries to control the enemies of the West. ”

The Ministry of Rites Shangshu shook his head slightly, he supported Nan Guanmei, but this son's answer was wrong, one of the purposes of the Great Chu Expedition was to attack the Xiongnu halfway, first eliminate the near trouble, and then destroy the distant enemy.

This is not to blame Nan Guanmei, the strategy of the Chu army is still a secret, and only a few people in the DPRK know about it.

Han Ruzi asked a few more words, replaced the next person, the third person was Luo Shifu, he suggested that there was no need to rush to send troops, you could wait, if the Western countries could defeat the gods and ghosts Da Dan Yu, Da Chu could save a huge amount of military spending.

The fourth person is Shen Daxing, who answered the most ingeniously, first explained the situation in the West again, to show that he knew current affairs very well, and finally said: "The major affairs of the country, the ruler does it, His Majesty decides, the ministers are not in their positions, it is difficult to plan their affairs, and it makes sense for Dachu to send troops or not to send troops." ”

Zhuo Ruhe also shook his head lightly, he knew the emperor and knew that such a two-sided trick was ineffective for the emperor.

Han Ruzi didn't make a judgment, and finally asked a candidate named Zeng Dangyun, "You said that the Great Chu Expedition will be defeated, why?" ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked sideways, and even the five candidates standing at the door also looked at them in surprise, Da Chu had been preparing for several years, and the army was gathered outside the fortress, and he had not yet set out to fight, and this person actually asserted that he would be defeated, which was really bold.

Han Ruzi was very surprised, but he also wanted to hear Zeng Dangyun's explanation the most.

"Da Chu should follow the trend."

Han Ruzi was shocked, he hadn't heard the words "follow the trend" for a long time.