"What, Gonggong Li, has this matter changed again?" Su Hao asked.

Li Long made a gesture to Vientiane, who was standing behind him, and Vientiane hurriedly stepped forward to fill the glass of wine for Li Long. Li Long picked up the cup and did not persuade Su Hao, but drank it slowly, as if he was in a heavy mood. When the wine in the cup was finished, he put it down, sighed, and said, "Alas, it's really a troublesome thing to talk about." ”

"Oh......" Su Hao replied lightly, and did not ask, when it came to the emperor's affairs, if Li Long was unwilling to say, it would be inconvenient for him to inquire. He didn't know if Li Long was willing to let him know what was going on, so he could only wait for Li Long to speak.

Li Long took a chopstick dish and ate it, brewed some emotions, and then said: "Originally, our family has already told the saint, and the saint appreciates your talent very much, and promised to summon you to the front of the palace and give you a chance to show in front of all the courtiers." If you behave well and get the approval of your courtiers, isn't it logical for the Holy Lord to push the boat and reward you with an official position? ”

"Oh, I see, it's really difficult for Gonggong Li's arrangement." Su Hao said.

Li Long continued: "But who knows, while you are still on the road, things will change. The emperor quarreled with the important ministers in the court, and the emperor was reluctant to go to the court, and the courtiers wrote to resign one by one, and even the first assistant Shen Shixing said that he was sick and resting at home, and the whole court was in chaos. ”

"Won't it?" Su Hao couldn't cry or laugh. Although he had long heard that the court politics of the Ming Dynasty were very complicated, he had always been far away from the rivers and lakes, and he had no personal feelings. Now that he is in the capital, he listens to Wanli's henchman eunuch talk about such a thing, Su Hao does not feel worried, but feels a little funny.

What kind of thing can make the emperor go to court, the first assistant pretends to be sick, and the ministers resign, according to this statement, isn't it that no one goes to work, and the political axe is on vacation collectively?

"Gonggong Li, what is it that makes the emperor so annoyed that he is reluctant to go to court?" Su Hao asked.

Li Long said: "Isn't it for the purpose of establishing the East Palace?" This matter has been in trouble for several years, and every time the courtiers mention it, the emperor will be furious, so everyone will not be silent after that. At the beginning of this year, Shen Shoufu didn't know what medicine he had taken wrong, and suddenly proposed to the emperor that the emperor's eldest son should be allowed to go out of the cabinet to study, which caused this matter again. ”

"Out of the Pavilion to Study...... That's a good thing, right? Su Hao asked uncertainly.

Li Long said: "The emperor said that the eldest son of the emperor is still young and should not go out of the pavilion to study. ”

"Oh, that's just as well." Su Hao agrees with Wanli's thoughts, children, play is the surname of heaven, and letting children go to school too early is a bit devastating to children. He casually asked, "Gonggong Li, how old is the emperor's eldest son now?" ”

"Nine." Li Long replied.

"Nine!" Su Hao was speechless, "Nine-year-old...... It doesn't seem to be small, right, isn't it true that the eldest son of the emperor hasn't started studying yet? ”

Li Long saw Su Hao's dazed and ignorant look, so he explained to him:

It turns out that it is an important ritual for the prince to go out of the cabinet to study, which is different from ordinary people finding a gentleman to teach their children to read. Once the prince is allowed to study in the cabinet, it means that the prince will be canonized as the crown prince, which is not something that can be decided casually. In the final analysis, Shen Shixing's suggestion is still instigating Wanli to canonize the crown prince in disguise, and Wanli is willing to agree.

Later, Song Qi, the secretary of the ministry, Yu Shenxing, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Xu Guo, the minister of the courtier, all wrote to the emperor and asked for the emperor's eldest son to go out of the cabinet to study. The emperor did not agree, so they colluded with hundreds of courtiers, and the piles of written recitals were higher than a hill. Every day in the court, everyone doesn't talk about anything else, they just talk about it. Do you think, can the emperor not be annoyed? Li Long said indignantly. As a eunuch in the palace, his position is consistent with Wanli, so he is extremely dissatisfied with the ministers' forced palace.

"It's not fun to be an emperor." Su Hao said with emotion, "Even which son you like has to be interfered with by others, how can you be comfortable as a flat-headed commoner?" ”

"Change it carefully." Li Long hurriedly interrupted Su Hao's words, these words sounded to him, they were already a bit rebellious, but fortunately, they were just talking in private. He solemnly said to Su Hao: "Change, this matter of establishing a prince is the foundation of the country, how can it be child's play." The emperor and the ministers insisted on their own opinions on this matter and refused to give in to each other, also because this matter was too important, and no one would easily retreat. ”

"Gonggong Li, now the emperor's eldest son is only nine years old, so the emperor's favorite one, how old is the first son, and how old is he?" Su Hao asked.

Li Long was also a little immune to Su Hao's straightforward attitude, he didn't bother to pursue Su Hao's disrespectful language, but replied: "The emperor likes the third son of Concubine Zheng, who is five years old this year and is very smart. ”

Su Hao said: "Isn't this enough?" One is nine years old, the other is five years old, whether they are smart or not, after all, they are still minors, who can tell what they will be like in the future? The ministers like the eldest son of the emperor, but because of the ancestral system, it is stipulated that only the eldest son can succeed to the throne, and everyone does not care about what the eldest son is like. The emperor likes the third son of the emperor because of Concubine Zheng, not the third son of the emperor himself.

It's obviously a matter of choosing the prince, but everyone doesn't focus on examining the right candidates, but each has their own plans, if this is not called child's play, what else is it called child's play? ”

"Vientiane, you stand down first." Li Long turned back to Vientiane and said, Su Hao's words were shocking, and Li Long really didn't want others to hear it.

Vientiane retreated obediently, Li Long watched Vientiane completely cover the door of the room, and then whispered to Su Hao: "Change, your words are actually to the point, but well, this kind of thing is not something that can be said nonsense, if it gets out, it is a big crime." ”

Su Hao said: "Gonggong Li, you also admit that I got to the point, why can't you change something that even I can see is wrong?" ”

"How?" Li Long asked.

Su Hao said: "It's very simple, don't decide who is the prince and who is not the prince now." Let all the princes go to school, and when they are older, you can arrange for them to go out on a tour, and then give them some errands to do, in the process, observe their respective talents, and finally choose their sages. ”

"How can there be such a rule?" Li Long said, "How can the prince go out of the palace to travel, how can he go on any errands, and what kind of system is this?" I didn't have such rules in the Ming Dynasty. ”

Su Hao was sarcastic, explaining that it was because of this that the dynasty declined from generation to generation. However, thinking that the few words he said before had already scared Li Long enough, if he said a few more words to complain about the royal family, wouldn't he scare Li Long out of a heart attack? So, he could only shrug his shoulders and say that he had nothing to say, the royal affairs, which round to get him a small hundred households to worry about.

Li Long understood what Su Hao meant, and he said in a low voice: "Change it, what we are talking about today must not be passed on." If you are in the capital, if you meet someone talking about the establishment of the prince, you must not say the heart-damning arguments just now, otherwise, once someone with a heart hears you and asks you about the crime of arguing about the country's capital, then no one will be able to save you. ”

"Father-in-law Xie Li advises." Su Hao said.

Li Long said: "Alas, I was far away just now, in fact, what we want to tell you is not this." We just want to tell you that because of such a thing in the court, the emperor and the courtiers have a bit of a mess. At this time, if the emperor summons you, I am afraid that the courtiers will take advantage of the topic and make things difficult for you openly and secretly, which is not beautiful. Therefore, what our family means is that you stay in the capital for a period of time first, and when things ease up, our family will arrange for the emperor to summon you before it is too late. ”

Isn't this a cheat? Su Hao secretly complained in his heart. I worked hard to come to the capital, but when I encountered such a thing, Wanli couldn't summon him. said that when things eased up, with the paranoid energy of Wanli and the courtiers, I am afraid that it will be difficult for the two sides to reach an understanding in a year or two. In this way, wouldn't you wait in the capital for several years?

"Father-in-law Li, if that's the case, or I'll take my brothers out of the capital and go back to Yunnan first. When the matter here is over, you can send a message to Deputy General Deng of Yunnan to announce our entry into Beijing. What do you think? Su Hao asked tentatively.

Li Long thought for a while, shook his head and said, "Change it, according to our family's meaning, it is better for you to stay in the capital." After all, you have come by holy order, and now that the Holy One has not spoken, how can you leave without permission? What if one day the Holy One suddenly remembers this and wants to summon you? ”

"But ......," Su Hao was puzzled, "I take about 50 people and stay idle like this in the capital, right?" The simplest question is, who is responsible for our rations? ”

"It's easy." Li Long said, "You just go to the military department." With the Holy Purpose in hand, can the military department ignore your salary? As for you being idle in the capital, we have an idea......"

Speaking of this, Li Long's eyes rolled a few times, and he smiled ambiguously and said nothing.

Su Hao said: "If Gonggong Li has any ideas, please make it clear." ”

Li Long said: "Our family remembers that when you were in Jiangxi, you opened a commercial bank and sold coal to Nanchang. Now that you're in the capital and have nothing to do for a while, why don't you bring your business firm to the capital? With the ingenuity of reform, get a few things that people in the capital have never seen come out, and they will definitely be able to sell them at a good price. ”

"This ...... Is it appropriate? Su Hao was stunned, he was also a hundred households, and he entered Beijing by holy order. On the one hand, Li Long let himself go to the military department to ask for food, and on the other hand, he let himself do business in the capital, is there really such a good thing in this world?

"Although our family has not seen the ability to do business, we know it in our hearts. If the changed business is done well, our family will want to join in a share. Li Long smiled and said his true intentions.

(To be continued)