The Son of Heaven stood in the shade of the tree, the rising moonlight was divided into mottled pieces of silver by the branches, and sprinkled on his shoulders, and the silk weaving products produced by Xiangben reflected a soft luster in the moonlight, and from a distance, the body of the Son of Heaven seemed to glow faintly.

Liu Xiu secretly praised himself, as the saying goes, people rely on clothes, Buddha relies on gold, the Son of Heaven is born weaker, and his body is not very strong, but when he wears this clothes, he naturally has a bit of royal spirit, which makes people dare not despise it. He remembered that there was also a silk horse like this in his hometown in Zhuoxian, but he never thought that wearing such clothes would make people look so luxurious.

It's a pity that the spirit of the Son of Heaven at this moment is not good at all, his face is pale, his slender eyebrows are tightly locked, and his thin lips are also tightly pursed, he can't see the nobility of the Son of Heaven, but it makes people feel so sorry and distressed.

It's all for the emperor's throne. Liu Xiu pursed his lips silently. Although the Son of Heaven is not a natural saint, he is not a stupid person, especially in literature and art, he has a lot of advantages, articles and resignations, calligraphy Danqing, he is a little more than the average person's Wu surname, the feelings are delicate, the surname is also easy-going, the person is not bad, the quality is also high, is a very elegant person, if it is not an emperor, he is really a good object to be friends.

It's a pity, Taizu said that revolution is not a fuss, not painting and embroidering, and it can't be so elegant. In history, all the Ya emperors, in the end, are usually the emperors of the losers, after this Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, there are also Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and Zhao Ji of Song Huizong, the artistic achievements of those two are above him, and of course, the basket is bigger than him.

Liu Xiu used to think that this Emperor Ling of Han was the culprit of the overthrow of the Han Dynasty, just like his predecessor Emperor Huan of Han, but he didn't think so now, he hadn't seen Emperor Huan, but judging from the Emperor Ling of Han in front of him, although he was not a Ming Emperor, he was not a faint monarch, at least not so far. If it were a different time, at least he wouldn't have to be so hard.

Liu Xiu even felt that he was afraid that it was the reincarnation of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, and he could not be Zhongxing, the reason is very simple, the issue of land annexation, in fact, began to show signs from Liu Xiu's hands, and he used the power of the lord of Zhongxing to implement Dutian also ended in failure, so why can he say that when the family is stronger now, he can successfully implement reforms?

This is a dead knot, and perhaps only a stormy revolution can solve it, sweeping away those insatiable moths, and the world will naturally be peaceful.

However, when he thought of the subsequent "white bones exposed in the wild, there was no rooster crowing for thousands of miles", Liu Xiu shuddered.

"Liu Xiu, do you also think that in the future, you can get rid of your subordinates and cultivate your own protégés like them?" The Son of Heaven suddenly turned his face sideways and asked Liu Xiu. Liu Xiu was thinking about it, and he didn't pay attention to his words, the Son of Heaven waited for a while and didn't hear his answer, and his already bad mood was even more unhappy, turned around, kicked Liu Xiu with his toes, frowned and said, "What do you think?" ”

Liu Xiu was stunned for a moment, "What did Your Majesty say just now?" ”

"You are so bold, I talked to you, and you were actually distracted?" The Son of Heaven was a little angry.

"Please forgive Your Majesty, the minister is worried about Your Majesty." Liu Xiu arched his hand and said sadly: "Your Majesty's face is not good these days, is it too tired?" ”

Hearing Liu Xiu's words, the Son of Heaven's heart warmed, and he smiled bitterly: "I face those complaining and complaining every day, how can I be in a good mood." He sighed and said, "They have bitterness and grievances, and they can complain about grievances, and who can they tell me about their bitterness and grievances?" I now understand why the Emperor is called a widow. ”

Liu Xiu pursed his lips, and said in his heart that this is a bit of a meat cough, if you don't want to do it, let someone else come. He was disdainful in his heart, but he couldn't say that, so he comforted him appropriately. The Son of Heaven sent a few words of nervousness, felt a little more comfortable, and brought up the issue again. This time, Liu Xiu did not hesitate, and replied bluntly: "Yes, the minister does not want His Majesty to take back all the rights to employ people." ”

"Why?" The Son of Heaven asked quietly.

"Your Majesty forgives your vain. Most of the people His Majesty knows are from paper and exams, but it is inevitable that this way of looking at people is not comprehensive. His Majesty took a fancy to this person and arranged it for the minister's subordinates, if this person can't be used at all, will the minister return him, or will he use it reluctantly? Going back, it hurt His Majesty's insight, and he reluctantly used it, whose responsibility is it for the mistake? If it is the responsibility of the minister, the minister feels very wronged, and if it is the responsibility of His Majesty, the minister does not dare to say it. ”

"Don't dare to say it, I don't think you dare to say anything." The Son of Heaven laughed angrily, he understood Zhang Huan's means and intentions to give him a problem, and he also felt that something was wrong. In the past, the emperor's method of cultivating talents was to inspect the Lang officials around him, find available talents and then send them to try, but after being dispatched, he would not interfere with his specific actions, but only examine his own political achievements. In fact, almost all the departments of the Han Dynasty did this, only the chief officials of each department were assessed, and the subordinates below were not assessed, and those subordinates were assessed by their respective chief officials, and the imperial court generally did not interfere.

This time, it was initiated by the Situ Mansion to forcibly arrange personnel to the Sangong Mansion and Jiuqing Temple, which seriously violated the conventional employment system, and it is no wonder that it will be strongly opposed. The Son of Heaven sighed in his heart, Liu Xiu gave Song Feng three strategies at the beginning, and now Song Feng uses the middle policy, in fact, the only one that can really be used after careful analysis is the best policy, that is, Song Feng himself resigned from Situ.

But Song Feng just refused to help himself, which made the Son of Heaven very unhappy, and even Queen Song was reluctant to go there recently.

"Then I can't think about it?" The Son of Heaven said wistfully, found a clean stone and sat down, Wang Yue, who had been serving beside him, hurriedly caught up, knelt on the ground on one leg, rested the feet of the Son of Heaven on his knees, and removed the silk shoes and footwear for him. The Son of Heaven lowered his feet into the cool water, closed his eyes comfortably, and exhaled softly.

"Your Majesty, the power of appointment and dismissal, including the three dukes, is in the hands of Your Majesty." Liu Xiu sat down on a stone three steps away from him, and said with a smile: "Although it is inconvenient for Your Majesty to change the East Cao Peng of the Taiwei Mansion, you can change a Taiwei, isn't it just the whole pot of the Taiwei Mansion?" ”

"I don't want to move the Taiwei Mansion now, Zhang Huan is still a very suitable candidate for Taiwei, although he is a little screwed, and he never forgets to be close to the scholar all day long. What's more, as you just said, if you change someone, you still don't give up power. I don't know if the cold water calmed down the Son of Heaven, and his emotions slowly calmed down. He turned to Liu Xiu: "What I hope most now is that you can put the northern army in order as soon as possible, ensure the safety of Luoyang, and then remove the threat of the Xianbei people." When the time comes, I believe that someone will listen to me if I speak again. ”

"The minister must do his best." Liu Xiu said with some reluctance: "However, Your Majesty, the minister also has a lot of difficulties now. After a few days of rectification, the minister found that less than half of the soldiers of the Northern Army who could really be used, in addition to eating empty salaries, there were more greedy for life and afraid of death, and the infantry battalion and the shooting battalion were just fighting with some light heroes, and the casualties reached thirty percent. ”

"I know, I'm not talking to you." The Son of Heaven waved his hand and signaled Liu Xiu not to worry. "I think about it, the biggest problem why you can't use your hands and feet now, is that your rank is too low, the sixth hundred stone Northern Army candidate supervisor is better than the fifth lieutenant of two thousand stone, and it is okay when you are okay in normal times, but the emergency is insufficient. There are only seven officials you can get rid of now, and they are useless. ”

Liu Xiu's heart moved, what's the matter, you want to promote me to an official?

"I know that you have a lot of prestige among the Wuhuan people, and you will have to fight against the Xianbei people in the future, the cavalry is also the main force, and the Changshui battalion is the strongest of the three cavalry battalions, I want to allocate the Changshui battalion to you and lead it, and at the same time expand the establishment of the Changshui battalion, if you have any fancy people in the future, you can be directly summoned to the Changshui battalion."

The Son of Heaven said while holding the water with his feet: "However, you have to find a way to replenish the soldiers yourself, I don't have any money now." ”

Liu Xiu understood, the Son of Heaven wanted him to concurrently serve as the captain of Changshui, and turn the Changshui battalion into his direct force, after expanding his strength, plus the infantry battalion, he could control at least half of the strength of the Northern Army. However, the Son of Heaven has no money for him, and if he wants to expand the manpower, as well as the personnel who will be eliminated in the future, he may have to find a way to solve the problem of military salaries.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The Son of Heaven was a little stunned, and said self-deprecatingly: "I, the Son of Heaven, have done a really bad job, and I can't even take out the money of the Northern Army." ”

"Your Majesty, everything will be fine." Liu Xiu comforted: "When Emperor Gao first merged the world, he couldn't even find four horses of the same color. When Emperor Guangwu raised his army, he rode an ox. ”

The Son of Heaven may have thought of the scene of Emperor Guangwu riding a bull to fight, and couldn't help but laugh. He beckoned, and a tall and majestic-looking man in the prime of life walked over quickly, saluted the Son of Heaven, stood aside respectfully, and saluted Liu Xiuxian.

"Shanyang Liu Biao, meet your lord."

Liu Xiu didn't come back to his senses for a while, what did the Son of Heaven call Liu Biao over for? Looking at it like this, Liu Biao has been waiting next to him for a long time, and it is not a temporary idea of the Son of Heaven.

"Liu Biao is a clan, one of the eight Gu of Shanyang." There was a little frivolity in the tone of the Son of Heaven, as if he thought that these eight things were quite funny. He paused, and then said, "He is quite good at scripture, and his writing is good, but it is just because of the lack of your writings." If there is any book to play in the future, he can help you do it for you. ”

Liu Xiu was very unhappy, the Son of Heaven was promoting him on the one hand, and guarding him on the other. Just gave it to a captain of Changshui, and then he planted an eye and ear. This Liu Biao put it next to me, and he also took care of the paperwork for me, what can I hide from the Son of Heaven in the future? But his face didn't move, and he quickly got up and returned the salute: "Then I will have to work a lot in the future." ”

Liu Biao glanced at Liu Xiu in some surprise, and hurriedly bowed down: "I am willing to serve my lord." ”

Seeing that Liu Xiu had no unhappy expression, the Son of Heaven secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He is tantamount to directly interfering in Liu Xiu's employment, and he is very worried that Liu Xiu will oppose it, but if he doesn't install a trustworthy person by Liu Xiu's side, how can he rest assured that he will hand over the northern army to Liu Xiu, especially the Changshui Battalion, he can't let the Changshui Battalion fall into Yuan Shao's hands, but whether Liu Xiu is reliable, reliable now, and reliable in the future is an unknown to the Son of Heaven, if he doesn't take some precautions in advance, he will take too risky steps. If Liu Xiu had any intentions in the future, he would regret it.

He was very satisfied with Liu Xiu's reaction. He immediately discussed with Liu Xiu, first expanding the establishment of the Changshui Battalion to two thousand people in four parts and ten songs, and the gap of nearly 1,500 people was immediately requisitioned to the Wuhuan departments in Youzhou. Three additional Simas were added, and at the same time, the Son of Heaven gave Liu Xiu a quota for other Simas, which would be set up immediately if needed in the future.

More importantly, according to the practice of the Han military system, Liu Xiu now has the right to own one-tenth of the number of people he receives, that is, a personal guard battalion of two hundred people, which is a force controlled by Liu Xiu himself and is not subject to the constraints of others.

Liu Xiu was also very satisfied, he had already asked Xu Yu to select more than 50 people from Luoyang Prison, and he was worried that there was no establishment, so the Son of Heaven gave him a chance.

After talking about business, the mood of the Son of Heaven was obviously a lot more relaxed, and he talked some gossip with Liu Xiu, especially mentioning the recent situation of the emperor's eldest son, Shi Hou. He said that Shi Hou had recently learned a lot of songs from Tang Yingzi, and they all sounded pretty good, Tang Yingzi said that it was taught by Liu Xiu, and he didn't know if it was true. Because he felt that although the language of some songs was very straightforward, the charm and artistic conception were very good, not quite like what Liu Xiu could do. Because although Liu Xiu's paintings are good and his calligraphy is also first-class, his articles are generally written but are well known.

Liu Xiu Khan, in addition to some children's songs, he taught Tang Yingzi some ancient poems, all of which are fine poems in the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, but I didn't expect the Son of Heaven to hear the abnormalities in it, and it seems that he can't teach it anymore in the future.

"Deran, I see that although your knowledge is sparse, there are some unique things about teaching children." The Son of Heaven said with a smile: "After you have made meritorious contributions and conquered Xianbei, go back to being a young master, and when the time comes, teach the princes to read and teach them these songs." Listening to them drink these songs in children's voices every day, this palace is more angry. ”

Liu Xiuwei only bowed down and retreated. He scolded me as he walked out, let me be your royal kindergarten uncle? It's a beautiful thought.

Liu Biao didn't follow, and the Son of Heaven probably had something to say to him, asking him to report to the Northern Army tomorrow. Liu Xiu walked alone along the clean-cleaned boulevard, the lush canopy of trees obscured the bright moonlight, and the palace seemed very quiet. This made Liu Xiu feel very comfortable, thinking of the Forbidden City in the later generations, for the sake of safety, he didn't even dare to plant a tree, for fear of hiding an assassin inside, he felt that the Han Dynasty still had to be more fierce after all, even if it had been a hundred years of Confucianism, the Han people had the signs of worshipping literature and suppressing martial arts, but they still retained a lot of blood surnames, and the ministers had to wear knives and knives in addition to going to the palace to see the driver. In fact, the officials of the Han Dynasty were originally allowed to bring knives to see them, but once a minister called out a colleague in front of the Queen Mother, and finally pulled out a knife to fight alone, which scared the Queen Mother, and later forbade bringing weapons into the palace.

Thinking about the scene of the two ministers pulling out swords and slashing in front of the Queen Mother, Liu Xiu wanted to laugh, or the Han people were fierce.

He walked while thinking, and when he was about to leave the North Palace, his eyes glanced and saw two figures standing on the door, judging from the figure, it seemed that one of them was a woman. He had just been promoted, and he was in a very good mood with the establishment of the guard battalion, and his childlike heart increased greatly for a while, so he stopped and stood under His Majesty to eavesdrop. Although Que is tall, the two of them don't speak loudly, but his ear power is far higher than that of ordinary people, and he can probably hear some of them.

However, after listening to it for a while, he was a little confused. These two are none other than Zhang Jiao, the great sage and good teacher of Taiping Dao, and the other is the wife of the heir of the Heavenly Master Dao, Lu Shi. What are these two doing here? The date is not on the gate of the palace gate, is it?

But what the two of them talked about puzzled him even more. They seem to be talking about the first generation of Heavenly Master Dao, that is, their master Zhang Ling, Zhang Ling has been dead for more than twenty years, of course, the people of Heavenly Master Dao say that he is not dead, but feather and ascended to immortal. Zhang Heng was only ten years old at the time, slightly older than the current Zhang Lu, and his Taoism had not yet been completed, if it weren't for his mother Yong's prestige in the Heavenly Master's Dao, the second Heavenly Master might not have been Zhang Heng's turn to do it.

Liu Xiu didn't know most of what Zhang Jiao said to Lu Shi, he just heard from Lu's tone that Lu Shi had a grudge against Zhang Jiao, and he should think that Zhang Heng's death had a lot to do with Zhang Jiao. However, Zhang Jiao's attitude is very good, and he seems to have some old feelings for the Lu family, and he said that they were originally brothers and sisters, and now the Heavenly Master Dao and the Taiping Dao are working together to assist the Son of Heaven, and they should abandon their previous suspicions and the like.

Lu Shi was very unhappy, raised his voice and said a few words, and suddenly flew down from the door, just in time to see Liu Xiu, who was listening to the corner of the wall and was fascinated. Lu's face flushed, and he lowered his face and said, "Lord Liu is busy with official business, why is he here?" ”

Liu Xiu was very embarrassed, and said in disguise: "When I saw the Son of Heaven coming back, I happened to pass by here." Madame, where are you going? If you go back to the gym, let's go together. ”

Lu Shi thought for a while, nodded and agreed: "That's great." ”

Liu Xiu was just a kind word, but she didn't expect her to respond, and it was difficult to shirk it for a while. The two went out of Miyagi together, Lu got into the car, Liu Xiu was about to jump on his big red horse, Lu showed his face from the car: "Lord Liu, why don't you sit?" ”

Liu Xiu looked back at Zhang Jiao, who was still looking at this side on the door, and was a little uncertain: "This ...... Inconvenient, right? ”

"Nothing inconvenient." Lu Shi smiled: "I am a cultivator, I have no home when I enter the Tao, and there is no distinction between men and women. But if you dislike me as a widow, forget it. ”

As soon as she said this, Liu Xiu couldn't refuse. He threw the reins of the horse to Xu Yu and got into Lu's car. Lu's car was rewarded by the Son of Heaven, although the decoration was not very gorgeous, but it was very spacious, and it was more than enough for two people.

Lu's does not apply powder, does not paint Zhu, and it is not considered to be a heavenly fragrance when you look closely, but the person is very attractive, and the skin is also very good, and it is the kind of person who is very durable, and the more you look at it, the more pleasing it is to the eye. This may be related to her successful cultivation and good at health preservation, not to say that a woman's beauty is from the inside out, with blood to nourish her face, and her skin is delicate and shiny, it should be said that she is like this.

Liu Xiu sat cross-legged in the car. He was not used to kneeling, which is why he did not like to ride in a car and preferred to ride a horse. If he really wants to take a car, he would rather sit cross-legged. Because he has to meditate and practice qi every day, he now has no effort at all.

Lu Shi glanced at him and smiled: "Although my lord does not enter the Dao Gate, he is also a cultivator. ”

Liu Xiu laughed twice and said modestly: "I'm just a skin, with a great sage and a good teacher and his wife in front of me, how dare I call myself a Taoist person." ”

The corners of Lu's mouth were crooked, and he said intentionally or unintentionally: "Why should you be modest, with your current skill in the Breathing Technique, even people in the Dao Sect may not be able to reach it." Adults are extremely talented, and they have artifacts and treasures in their hands, as long as they concentrate on cultivation, they may not be unexpected. ”

Liu Xiu couldn't help but laugh. He wanted to laugh at the thought of Lu Shi saying that his short knife was a real artifact. When he returned, he carefully studied the pattern on the hilt, but still did not see anything. He also specially consulted Zhang Jiao, but Zhang Jiao said that he had not studied talismans, and that since his master had traveled far away, he had not surpassed his junior sister Lu Shi today. When they were practicing under Shizun, the talismans of several of their brothers and sisters were not as good as those of the Lu family, including Zhang Heng. When mentioning Zhang Heng, Liu Xiu noticed that the corners of Zhang Jiao's eyes would twitch from time to time, very much like the feeling between rivals in love.

"This artifact is in my hands, it's really buried." Liu Xiu smiled faintly and said, "Madam, I won't tell you, Zhang Ming still asked God in front of me, but I still can't believe it." I think that his illusion of inviting the gods is more similar to that of the Great Qin people. If he is really a god, then aren't the people of Great Qin all immortals? ”

The Great Qin people are the Romans, the Han Dynasty has been established for hundreds of years, and the Great Qin people have come a lot, and now there are the Great Qin people who have lived in Luoyang for many years, some are merchants, and some are artists, who will play tricks such as swallowing swords and fires, to be honest, no one regards that thing as magic. Luoyang not only has Great Qin people, but also resting people, and even officials. There is a resting man named An Shigao next to the Son of Heaven, it is said that he is still the prince of the resting country, Emperor Huan first came to Luoyang to preach, and has been living in the White Horse Temple in the west of the city to translate scriptures. He has a Han disciple named Yan Buddha, and he also went to participate in the Lingtai lecture this time.

"It's good that adults don't believe and don't worship, but if you don't want to believe the real gods because of choking, it's a pity." Lu Shi said unhurriedly: "I also know a little about Zhang Ming's invitation to God. I also heard that the holy daughter of Taiping Road is the little girl named Tang Yingzi next to you. ”

Liu Xiu was silent. He is also very strange about this now. After Zhang Jiao arrived in Luoyang, although Tang Yingzi avoided him everywhere and tried not to meet him, there was no impermeable wall, to say that Zhang Jiao still didn't know that Tang Yingzi was a saint, and he didn't believe it if he was killed. But the strange thing is that Zhang Jiao has never asked him for Tang Yingzi, and he didn't even mention it, as if there was no such thing, which is a little weird.

Could it be that Daddy has something to do with Zhang Jiao and said hello to him? Liu Xiu once asked his father about this matter, but his father denied it, I had a relationship with Zhang Jiao, but I didn't have such a big energy, so he knew that Yingzi was the saint of his Taiping Dao but didn't react. Daddy finally said, maybe it's the will of heaven, the people who cultivate the old way of Huang pay the most attention to the will of heaven, don't force things to do, everything goes naturally, maybe he thinks that the saint is willing to follow you is the will of heaven.

Liu Xiu disagreed. No matter how obedient he obeys the will of heaven, he has to turn his face when he is robbed of the most powerful treasure of the Holy Maiden. He always wanted to ask Zhang Jiao in person, but Zhang Jiao didn't mention it, and he couldn't admit it himself, I know that Yingzi is your holy daughter, and your Taiping Dao Holy Relic Ring is also in my hand.

Now that Lu Shi took the initiative to mention it, he might as well inquire.

(To be continued)