In King Qing's mansion, Shi Zun had already learned that Shi Zhan was ordered by Shi Hu to be punished with a hundred canes and grounded for three months yesterday, so he was in a good mood. Tan Yuan, the www.biquge.info housekeeper of the pen "Fun" Pavilion, brought Shi Zun breakfast, and saw that Shi Zun was dressing under the service of the two maids, and hummed a small tune, and said with a smile: "Today, there is a red light under His Royal Highness, and it seems that he is in a good mood." ”

Shi Zun pulled his sleeves, looked at the bronze mirror, then turned around and walked out of the inner room, waved his hand to signal the two maids to retreat, and then said: "This is natural, yesterday Shi Zhan was scolded by his father in court, and he was grounded for three months, how can this king be in a bad mood." ”

"It's just that the cane has not cut off his title, so why is His Highness so happy?" Tan Yuan asked cautiously on the side.

Shi Zun sat down, picked up a piece of pastry casually, and said: "Do you know, Shi Zhan has been deeply loved by his father since he was a child, but the Han and the Qian people have always been a problem that the two of them can't look at directly, but in the past few years, my father and Shi Zhan have not had conflicts because of this issue. This time the king found something to do for Shi Zhan, no, the contradiction between Shi Zhan and his father was immediately reflected, and in the future, this problem will only become more and more an obstacle to the warming of the relationship between his father and Shi Zhan. ”

"In this way, sooner or later, even if Shi Zhan is not killed by His Majesty, he will not be as powerful as he is now, and His Royal Highness will be one step closer to the throne at that time."

"You're right, by the way, is there any movement on King Yan's side?" Shi Zun took a bite of the pastry.

"According to the informant, in addition to going to the palace to ask His Majesty for peace recently, the rest of the time is to talk about learning with some literati, Zhang Bao has been running to King Yan's mansion recently, I don't know what the intention is."

When Shi Zun heard Zhang Bao's name, his face suddenly felt a little unhappy, thinking that when he welcomed Shi Zhan back to the city at the gate of the city that day, Zhang Bao had humiliated himself in front of everyone.

Tan Yuan noticed that Shi Zun's expression had changed slightly, and asked in a low voice, "Is Your Highness any dissatisfaction with this Zhang Leopard?" ”

Shi Zun put down the pastries in his hand and said coldly: "He once humiliated me in front of everyone, and now he frequently walks around the Yan Wang's mansion, making it clear that he supports the Yan King to be my enemy." ”

"His Royal Highness is in Licheng all the year round, not in Beijing, this Manchu Dynasty civil and military must know more about King Yan than His Royal Highness, and it is reasonable for Zhang Bao to see the wind and rudder, but Your Highness doesn't have to worry, at least you have mastered the military department and patrol battalion in your hands, and Liu Yuanzhi of the household department will soon be under the command of His Royal Highness."

"You don't have to choose a good one to say, this king is very clear about the current situation, most of the ministers in the court are deceived by Shi Shi's false benevolence and false righteousness, and have secretly fallen to his side, supporting this king, but because this king has military exploits, and there are tens of thousands of horses in his hands, if he loses power in the future, how many people can really contribute to this king?"

"Most of those civil servants in the court are Han people, and these Han people shout for virtue and benevolence one by one, and when they meet King Yan, who is full of benevolence and righteousness, they naturally hit it off. However, as His Royal Highness said, although there are many people who support King Yan at present, none of these people who support King Yan hold military power, in the final analysis, the real strength is His Royal Highness King Qing. ”

Tan Yuan has followed Shi Zun for many years, and knows Shi Zun's temperament well, his words can be regarded as speaking to Shi Zun's heart, Shi Zun listened to Tan Yuan's words, smiled happily, and said: "You are the best at talking." ”

"Your Highness has won the award, and his subordinates are just analyzing it based on the facts." Tan Yuan smiled and excused himself.

"You're welcome, for so many years, your loyalty to this king has been seen by this king and will not be forgotten. By the way, is there any news from You Jian's side? ”

"Lord You sent someone to deliver a letter yesterday afternoon, and my subordinates haven't had time to tell His Highness yet." Tan Yuan said, took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Shi Zun.

Shi Zun took the letter and opened it and looked at it, then handed the letter to Tan Yuan, Tan Yuan took it with both hands and looked at it carefully, and said: "Your Highness's expectations are not bad, only these people support Your Highness in this court. ”

"Hmph, those who support Shi Shi, sooner or later, this king will let them know what the consequences of standing on the wrong side are!" Shi Zun said fiercely.

Tan Yuan still looked at the letter, then walked up to Shi Zun, handed over the letterhead, and said, "I don't know if Your Highness has found out, most of the people who support Your Highness are from our Qiang tribe." ”

As soon as Shi Zun heard this, he took the letter again, read it carefully, and suddenly smiled: "Hahahahaha, you are still careful, this king almost forgot, this Zhao country belongs to our Qian people, since there are so many people of the same clan who support this king, why should this king worry about not being able to achieve a big deal?" ”

"Your Highness is wise!"

"My father is still more than 60 years old, how is the progress of the gift you prepared for your father?"

"The thousand-armpit fox fur has been given to Your Majesty, and the original subordinates were also worried about the gift, and they didn't know what to prepare for His Highness for a while, but Li Cheng sent a thing, and his subordinates thought that if this thing was given to His Majesty, His Majesty would be happy."

When Shi Zun heard this, he asked curiously, "What is it?" ”

Tan Yuan leaned into Shi Zun's ear and muttered a few words in a low voice, Shi Zun laughed after listening to it, and praised Tan Yuan: "You really know how to do things, if you can satisfy your father this time, this king will reward you heavily." ”

Tan Yuan also thanked excitedly: "My subordinates have thanked Your Highness." ”

"By the way, these people on the list, you also prepare some generous gifts, one per person, send someone to send it over after a few ****, and Liu Guifei, you say hello to the people in the palace, send some things that women like, remember, don't be reluctant to spend money."

"The subordinates understand that they can't bear the wolf if they can't bear the child."

Shi Zun nodded with satisfaction and said, "Okay, you can step down!" ”

Tan Yuan bent down and saluted: "The subordinates retreat." ”

At the same time, in King Yan's mansion, Zhang Bao was talking to Shi Shi.

"Lord Zhang, last time you told me that my father and the emperor recently discussed with you about the establishment of the prince, is it true or not?" Shi Shi took a sip of tea and asked Zhang Bao, who was sitting on the right hand.

"What Xia Guan said is naturally the truth, in addition to me, there is also Prime Minister Gao, if Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can send someone to Prime Minister Gao to find out." Zhang Bao is unhurried and calm.

Shi Shi smiled slightly, stood up, and said: "Prime Minister Gao has been worshiping the prime minister since the reign of Taizu, and he has been comfortable and alone in the officialdom for so many years, do you think ordinary people can get words from the mouth of this old slippery head?" ”

"His Royal Highness said the same, so when His Majesty asked Prime Minister Gao who was better to be the prince, Prime Minister Gao was also vague, taking care of him, His Majesty scolded him for this."

"That king is also very curious, how Lord Zhang answered his father's question." Shi Shi looked at Zhang Bao and asked.

Seeing Shi Shi looking at him, Zhang Bao did not panic at all, and replied calmly: "The lower official told Your Majesty that among the princes, Your Royal Highness, your eldest brother is disabled and is not suitable to be a king, and the rest, with prestige and excellence, are only King Qing and Your Highness." ”

"This king doesn't have much interest in being the crown prince, but the world has been in chaos for too long, and the people are miserable, no matter who will be the heir of his father in the future, as long as he gives benevolent government and allows the people of the world to recuperate, this king will support him."

"Your Highness can see it, but Your Royal Highness King Qing is probably not as relaxed as you."

"What do you mean?" Shi Shi frowned slightly.

"His Royal Highness King Qing has always been ambitious, among His Majesty's sons, except for Xihuahou, his military exploits are the most prominent, and he has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in his hands, if he has no intention of seizing the heir, then the sun is really going to come out of the west."

"This king has no intention of fighting with him, as long as he can treat the people well and let him sit on the throne of the crown prince, this king has no opinion."

"King Qing is your half-brother, you should know his heart better than the lower officials, do you think he will be a benevolent monarch if he inherits the throne in the future? On the contrary, not only will he not rule the world with benevolence, but he will not let go of Your Highness. ”

Shi Shi gasped and asked Zhang Bao: "This king has no intention of competing with him for the throne, if he inherits the throne in the future, what is the need to target this king?" ”

"Your Highness, don't you understand? Now it's not a question of whether His Highness wants to fight with King Qing, but a question that you have to fight with him. Although you and Your Majesty are from the Qiang ethnic group, but the court is only mostly Han Chinese, Your Royal Highness is kind by nature, those Han officials are all Confucian, advocating benevolence, and they all hope that Your Highness will be able to ascend to the Ninth Five-Year Plan in the future, and exercise benevolent governance to the Han people and appease the people of the world. ”

Shi Shi smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't expect that this king has no choice now. ”

"So Your Highness, you should understand that if you don't fight for the position of this crown prince, I am afraid that you will not be able to protect yourself in the future, because with King Qing's person, he will definitely not tolerate anyone who threatens him."

"The king you said knows......" Shi Shi nodded silently, there was a little helplessness in his eyes, and there was a trace of perseverance, Shi Shi understood that there was no way back now, so he could only go forward.