No one spoke, no one moved, and the air seemed to condense in an instant, and the weight of the conversation in the room just now was heavy, and the four prime ministers who participated knew best. They all know this chamberlain, it is the escort of Deokshou Palace, how long has he been standing at the door with the emperor? What did he hear? And the attendant from Deshou Palace was also like immobilizing the body, because he didn't know what the four important ministers were staring at him.

After a while, the chamberlain took a step back and bowed: "On the orders of the emperor, please invite Zhao Xiang and Xu Xiang to Deshou Palace." ”

The four of them played a small drum in their hearts, and Xu Liang and Zhao Ding exchanged glances and neither moved. Since the last incident, the Emperor Taishang has lived in seclusion in Deoksugung Palace, and everyone knows that he is in fact under house arrest. When the courtiers saw the emperor, they could only celebrate the New Year's holiday, or his birthday, or they would visit the palace with the emperor. Other than that, can't be seen. Now the Emperor Taishang summoned the prime minister to Deoksugung Palace at this delicate moment, which will inevitably make people suspicious.

"I don't know what happened to the Emperor Taishang summoning his ministers and others?" Xu Liang asked.

"I don't know if this villain is accompanied by the villain, or is it ......" The waiter also seemed a little flustered and eager to get out.

Zhao Ding immediately said: "You go first, Xu Xiang and I will come later." When the chamberlain got this, he hurriedly gave a salute and turned to leave.

Zhu Zhuo turned around, looked at Xu Liang and Zhao Ding, and said, "What should I do?" ”

Xu Liangyi stretched out his hand: "Don't worry. Then he called out, "Ji Chang, you come in." ”

A Chinese scholar who was working outside heard the sound and said, "What do you have to say?" ”

"When did the chamberlain come?" Xu Liang asked.

"Just, not long after he came, when Zhu Shenzheng opened the door, he happened to come in and was about to knock on the door, and the door opened." The adjutant replied.

"Are you sure?" Zhao Ding asked in a deep voice.

The adjutant looked a little stunned, nodded frequently, and said, "The subordinate is sitting outside, and he can see it clearly, and there will be no mistake." ”

Zhao Ding was still not at ease, and asked again: "Are you sure that when Zhu Shenzheng opened the door, he happened to be walking at the door?" "The adjutant just didn't swear an oath, saying that the other party had indeed just arrived. Zhao Ding was a little relieved at this time, and asked the two governors to go in advance, and then asked Xu Liangdao: "To go or not to go?" ”

Xu Liang thought for a while and guessed: "It may be that the matter of us forcibly breaking into the Son of Heaven's bedroom has alarmed him, and now we are called to be afraid that it is for temptation, let's take a trip, Zhao Xiang thinks?" ”

Zhao Ding snorted: "It's okay, let's see what Deshou Palace wants to do." The two agreed, so they went out of Zhongshu Province together and went to Deshou Palace.

Walking halfway down, Xu Liang saw that the guards everywhere in the forbidden middle school were strengthened, and he was a little worried in his heart, so he stopped and said, "Zhao Xiang, we can't both go." In this way, you go back, and I will go to Deoksugung Palace to see the Emperor. ”

Zhao Ding naturally understood what he meant, looking at Shen Ze's recent behavior is a little abnormal, and he is in charge of the internal guard forbidden army, this is not afraid of 10,000, just in case, if the second phase is to let people serve it in a pot, the courtiers have nothing, what can I do? Then he said: "Okay, if you go there, you will say that I suddenly fell ill." "Xu Liang should be,

went to Deshou Palace alone, and Zhao Ding did not mention it in his book.

Deoksugung Palace is the residence of the Emperor Taishang, everything is built in imitation of Tokyo Longde Palace, and the Longde Palace in Tokyo is the place where Zhao Huan put his Laozi Daojun Zhao Ji under house arrest. When Xu Liang arrived there, he didn't see anything unusual, and even the guards that should have been removed were removed, and it seemed that the Emperor Taishang didn't want him to have any ideas.

After the door's attendant entered the palace to report, he led Xu Liang into the palace and went to the main hall of the palace, where the emperor was already seated. Although it is said that he is the emperor, Zhao Huan is only in his forties, and if he does not suffer from wind disease, he can be said to be in the prime of life. Because of the cold weather, the Emperor Taishang was dressed very thickly, holding a leather robe, and almost only one head could be seen.

Xu Liang stepped forward quickly, and the courtiers saluted and said, "Minister Xu Liang, meet the emperor." ”

"Xu Qing is flat, come here, give a seat." Zhao Huan looked quite amiable at this time.

After Xu Liang thanked him, he sat down, and Zhao Huan ordered someone to serve hot tea until the other party drank a few sips, and then said: "The emperor is infected and can't take care of things, and the government is thanks to you and the ministers who have been reluctantly presiding." ”

"This minister has done his duty." Xu Liangdao.

Zhao Huan remained motionless and said, "I heard from the lieutenant that a few days ago, you and Zhao Ding had a little conflict with Shen Xue because they were worried about the condition of the Son of Heaven, is there such a thing?" "The lieutenant official, the chamberlain, although he mentioned this matter now, he didn't seem to have the intention of asking guilt when he heard the tone.

Xu Liang said truthfully: "This is indeed the case, and the minister and Zhao Xiang were a little anxious, and it was a bit rude. ”

"Well, that's understandable. The reason why I asked the chamberlain to make sure that my eldest brother was not disturbed was for the sake of his recovery. You also know the emperor's temperament, he has always been diligent, and if he sees a minister, he must be concerned about the affairs of the court. Zhao Huan seems to be "explaining" for himself.

"I understand." Xu Liang didn't have any extra words.

"Okay, I know you must be anxious, I summoned you today, there is a very important matter to discuss with you, why didn't Zhao Ding come?" The Emperor Taishang did not ask until this time.

"Zhao Xiang has been overworked these days, and his old illness has recovered, so he deliberately asked his ministers to confess to the emperor." Xu Liangdao. Both sides understand that this is just a prevarication, but neither will debunk it.

Sure enough, the Emperor nodded and continued: "I'll tell you the truth, the eldest brother's illness is not optimistic. ”

Although he had known the news before, Xu Liang still pretended to be surprised and inexplicable, and he was speechless for a long time, and then he stammered: "This, how can the wind and cold ......?"

"Alas, the emperor has been weak since he was a child, he was enthroned in political affairs with logistics, overworked, and after the winter, he braved the cold, and the imperial doctor has tied his hands, only looking forward to the protection of the gods in these two days......" When Zhao Huan said this, his face did show a sad look. At this point, there should be no doubt that he and Zhao Chen are father and son after all, and Zhao Chen is still his eldest son, although there are unpleasant things, the nature of father and son is always inextinguishable.

Xu Liang didn't know what to say for a while, so he could only say with relief: "The Holy One has his own heavenly blessing, and the Emperor Taishang is just too sad." ”

Zhao Huan sighed when he heard this: "That's what I said, but the world is impermanent, who can predict it."

Arrive? If it is an ordinary family, it is okay, this emperor has it, personal life and death are small, and the future of the country is big. I called you here today, first, to inform you of this matter, so that you have a spectrum in your heart; The second is ......" Speaking of this, the Emperor Taishang was a little hesitant, and Xu Liang was silent, quietly waiting for his next words.

"Second, if something happens to the eldest brother, how to deal with the next thing, I want to hear the prime minister's opinion." Zhao Huan finally said this.

Xu Liang was silent for a while, and then muttered: "Although the Holy Lord is still asleep now, it's too early to say this at this time, right?" ”

Zhao Huan heard the meaning of his words, and said with a straight face: "As a father, I naturally hope that my son can recover." But he is not only my son, but also the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. If the heavens do not fulfill the wishes of the people, how can the country be without a king for a day? ”

Xu Liang was speechless, so he pushed the question back: "When the minister heard the news at first glance, he was burned inside, and he really had no idea for a while, and he didn't know ...... the emperor."

Zhao Huan seemed to be waiting for this sentence, and when he heard this, he said: "I live in Deokshou Palace, and what I do every day is just to recuperate and study, and I don't ask about politics and politics." But it is a matter of the Great Song Dynasty, and it cannot be ignored. If something happens to the emperor, what worries me the most is that he still has no heirs. If there is chaos because of this, I am afraid that Beiyi will despise the imperial court. The envoys of the Kingdom of Jin are doing it now, aren't they? ”

"What the Emperor is worried about is extremely true." Xu Liangzhi knew in his heart that since the Emperor Taishang had called him today, the other party might have already made plans in his heart, so he just had to wait, he would always say his true words.

"I think so, after you go back, inform the Minister of the Governor in advance, so that everyone can be prepared. If the eldest brother can recover, it will be the best. Otherwise, if you can be sober for a while, you can arrange it in person. If it's really ...... Then I will be the only one to intervene and preside over this matter with the ministers. Zhao Huan's words made Xu Liang a little difficult to ponder.

He did not explicitly state that he wanted to be reinstated, only that he and the minister would preside over the matter. Does this "matter" mean "choosing a new king" or "ruling the world"?

If you change someone else, you don't dare to ask, but what kind of person is Xu Liang? What's more, he escaped from Geling and ran all the way to Huaixi to recruit the army of King Qin, and he was stunned to pull down Zhao Huan, who had been restored, so to speak, he had offended the Emperor Taishang. So this time, no matter what, Zhao Huan will not be allowed to come to power again. Therefore, he asked directly: "Forgive the ministers for being stupid, what does the Emperor Taishang mean by 'presiding'?" ”

Emperor Zhao Huan probably didn't expect him to pick out the problem without hesitation, and he was speechless for a while. After a while, he said angrily, "What do you think?"

"The minister just doesn't know, so please make it clear to the emperor." Xu Liang said.

"Hmph" After a loud snort, Zhao Huan was extremely unhappy and said, "You go."

After returning from Emperor Taishang's Deshou Palace, Xu Liang immediately summoned Zaizhi to find out the matter, saying that Emperor Taishang had the intention of winning the championship. The imperial court must prepare now. The prime minister is the brain of the government, and now the emperor can't look at things, all the power is in the hands of the prime minister, and it should be easy to prepare. But now there is a serious problem ahead.

At that time, the ministers of the main war faction such as Xu Han in the court once advised Emperor Zhao Chen to eliminate the power of the emperor in the court, because they noticed that these people were moving. But Zhao Chen did not make up his mind, so Xu Han, who was the privy envoy at the time, used the power in his hands to remove all the troops guarding Hangzhou, which naturally included the internal guard forbidden army responsible for the security of the palace. Later, the emperor handed over the internal guard forbidden army to his most trusted eunuch Shen Ze to control it. In other words, now Shen Xue has the ability to control the palace, and Zhongshu Province is also located in the palace.

Looking at Shen Ze's recent actions, he has a posture of moving closer to the emperor, if something happens. Not only can he control the palace, but he can also control the Zhongshu and the ministers, which is very disadvantageous.

Xu Liang took advantage of the opportunity of changing the defense of the forbidden army to transfer 4,000 troops from Zhao Ding, the pacification division of Liangzhejiang, to Hangzhou, and temporarily transferred Xu Sheng, the judge of Xuanfu of Liangzhejiang, back to take charge of this army, which was stationed not far outside Hangzhou. This arrangement was unanimously agreed upon by the ministers and participated in it, and they had no objection to Xu Shenglai being in charge of this army. Because Xu Sheng is Xu Liang's cousin, only he is the most reliable at this time.

In addition, the city defense of Hangzhou is in charge of the front division of the palace, and the current commander of the front division of the palace is newly promoted after the last incident, so there is no problem. For Shen Ze, it is a little difficult to do. Although the prime minister has a lot of power, under one of a sudden, above ten thousand people, the prime minister is responsible for the "outer court", and the eunuch belongs to the "inner court", and you can't control him. If the prime minister wants to remove a prefect, or even a pacification envoy, you can't remove even one escort from the Inner Servant Province.

Moreover, Shen Ze was in the emperor's dormitory at any time, and he was the first to know about any "changes" and took the lead. After the prime ministers discussed, they thought that there should also be Zhongshu's eyeliner in the palace, and if there was any accident, Zhongshu must know it as soon as possible, otherwise we would be busy for a while and we could only be blind.

But this foreign minister can't interact with the middle official, and none of the four chiefs in the political hall have a relationship with the internal servant, so he can't get along at all. Xu Liang and Zhao Ding thought about it again and again and decided to ask Empress Zhang. First of all, Queen Zhang is the master of the harem, and no one can control her, and secondly, the Zhang family still has some relationship with the Xu family. When Xu Wei first emerged, Zhang Shuye appreciated him very much, and even recommended him to the imperial court, and later helped a lot.

Although Zhongshu was busy with the layout, the prime ministers still hoped that the emperor would get better, so that a lot of trouble would be spared. As Emperor Taishang said, now the envoys of the Jin State are in the city of Hangzhou, if they learn that the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty is dead, and there is no heir to succeed the emperor, the news will reach the Jin State, and no one can predict what will happen.

On the nineteenth day of the lunar month, heavy snow fell overnight, piling up the city of Hangzhou into snow white. Snow is not unusual, but it is rare in the south to see such a heavy snowfall. And on the 19th, the snow did not stop, and by the time the afternoon was gone, the snow on the ground was almost as level as the instep.

"How? What is the condition of the Holy One? As soon as Xu Liang stepped into the threshold, the ministers came up in a swarm. In today's hall, there are not only the chief and deputy prime ministers, but also those who know the affairs of the Privy Council, the Imperial History, and other important yamen

Chief.

General Xu Liang shook the snow on his body, his nose was red, and he shook his head and said, "I can't get any news." I can't ask for a visit every day, and the other side of the palace also said that the queen was summoned to Deoksugung Palace by the Queen Mother. ”

"What is this called? There is a disease in the saint, and the minister has no way of knowing" Some courtiers began to complain.

Xu Liang put his hand on the stove and roasted, he didn't care about the discussion of his colleagues, he was only thinking about something, Zhao Ding saw this, walked over and said softly: "If it goes on like this, we are always passive." ”

Xu Liang's gaze gradually sharpened, and he said in a low voice: "Yes, we have to go further." ”。