Zheng Rong bent down slightly, helped Wang Zhonghai up, and said, "The princess is in good spirits, it's really gratifying!" ”

Wang Zhonghai took advantage of the situation to stand up, quietly patted the dust off his body, and said with a smile on his face: "Isn't the prince teasing the old slave?" Speaking of which, the old slave was not in good health a few days ago, and thanks to the second son of the emperor who sympathized with the old slave, he sent a South China Sea pearl the size of a wine glass to grind into powder and serve it, hehehehehe, he picked up an old life......

After Wang Zhonghai said a few words, Zheng Rong probed his mouth—this was lobbying for the second son of the emperor—and suddenly felt bored, and immediately interrupted Wang Zhonghai's words, and said, "There is Prince Lao leading the way." ”

"This ......" Wang Zhonghai swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said, "The prince is really tormenting the old slave." I think the emperor is waiting in the Shuli Palace, but these honor guards are entourage......

"This king still understands this rule." After saying that, he turned around and made arrangements for the attendants, and then entered the palace with Wang Zhonghai.

Although Wang Zhonghai's legs and feet are also sharp, how can he compare to Zheng Rong, the king of Youyan, who guards the northern frontier and exercises soldiers and horses every day? In addition, Zheng Rong was very familiar with the layout of the palace since he was a child, and he was unwilling to go with Wang Zhonghai, so he couldn't walk a few steps, so he left the old eunuch far behind.

The Forbidden City is as majestic as ever. The stone road, all of which is made of white marble, connects the huge palace seats; The countless bright yellow glazed tiles on the top of the palace reflect the brilliance of the sun, making people unable to open their eyes; The tall red-walled palace gate cuts the entire imperial city into strands of detailed parts, and no half of it is allowed to trespass. However, in this extremely luxurious and grand palace complex, the emperor's personal administration, which is the center and focus of power, is an almost simple small thatched hut - Shuli Palace. Emperor Taizu Gao, who opened up the great Han Dynasty, was born in the wilderness, because of the tyranny of the previous dynasty, after the establishment of the country, in order to warn the descendants not to forget the difficulties of starting a business, the people were suffering, specially built a thatched house, in the name of "Shuren Li Min", called "Shuli Palace", as the office of the emperor of later generations.

Although Zheng Rong walked in front, he didn't dare to rush the door into the palace, so he had to wait for Wang Zhonghai's report before entering the palace.

Zheng Rong stepped into the Shuli Palace, as if he had entered another world in an instant. The doors and windows of the simple hall were closed, the thick curtains blocked every ray of sunlight, every wisp of breeze invaded, and in the stuffy and frozen air, only a few candles swaying in the turbid air emitted a faint light.

Zheng Rong settled his mind so that his eyes could adapt to the dim light as soon as possible, and then he saw Zheng Yong, who was trapped in the soft dragon throne as the current emperor and his brother.

In the darkness, the emperor heard a desolate voice: "Brother Xian, come over and let me take a look." ”

Zheng Rong heard this, and hurriedly moved forward, only then did he see Long Yan clearly. I saw that the emperor had long hair that was neither black nor white, half yellow and half purple, his dim face was crisscrossed with deep and shallow wrinkles, his shriveled body was buried in an untimely robe, and his dull and cloudy eyes were staring at his brother. Zheng Rongtong, the king of Youyan, was the brother of the emperor Zheng Yong, who was sitting weakly in front of him, Zheng Yong was two years older, less than fifty this year, but he looked like the elder of this heroic prince.

When Zheng Rong saw his brother like this, his heart tightened, and he called: "Brother Huang! ”

The emperor struggled in the dragon chair for a while, as if he was trying to straighten up, but he was unsuccessful, coughed lightly twice, and said, "Whoever is coming, why do you still let my brother stand and talk?" ”

Before the words fell, Wang Zhonghai, who didn't know where to hide, floated out of the darkness and moved a chair for Zheng Rong. Zheng Rong nodded slightly and said, "There is a prince of Lao, can you light a candle for this king?" Wang Zhonghai laughed with him, raised his hand to beckon the little eunuch, and brought a candlestick, which dispelled the disturbing darkness a little.

Seeing Zheng Rong sitting calmly, the emperor took a breath and instructed Wang Zhonghai softly: "Wait until you go out first, I have something to say with my virtuous brother." Seeing Wang Zhonghai leading a few little eunuchs out of the palace gate reluctantly, Zheng Yong had a smile on his face and said, "Brother Xian has been guarding the northern frontier all these years, and it is really hard. How is the battle on the front line of Youyan recently? ”

Zheng Rong floated his hips, bowed slightly, and replied, "The imperial brother is too famous." Thanks to the blessing of the saint, the front-line soldiers forgot about themselves, and the soldiers and civilians of the cantonment were unremitting inside, and finally the northern Xinjiang was foolproof. ”

Zheng Yong's words changed sharply and said: "I am old and weak, although I have the heart of national affairs, but I can't do it. Fortunately, I was relieved to have a virtuous brother guarding the frontier for me. ”

"Why did the Holy One say this? The subordinate brother is sincerely afraid! ”

The Emperor waved his hand and went straight to the point: "I know my body...... Just to protect the foundation of the ancestors, he should be the prince as soon as possible. I have two sons, the eldest son is loyal and old, but he is cowardly and hesitant, and he is not a human king; The second son is impatient and frivolous, but he is smart and fruitful, and should be the master of supplements. For the sake of the community, I want to abolish the long and young, I don't know what the virtuous brother thinks? Without saying a few words, Zheng Yong was a little out of breath, and spread out on the dragon chair and gasped.

"What is this......" On the way to Beijing, Zheng Rong and his military adviser Zhong Likuang discussed the matter of establishing a prince many times - as far as the situation in the DPRK and China is concerned, the power of the eldest son of the emperor and the second son of the emperor should be equal, otherwise if one side has an absolute advantage, there will be no dispute for the establishment of the prince; In this situation, the forces that have not yet expressed their position and can play a decisive role are nothing more than the emperor's intentions and the attitudes of foreign vassals. Therefore, as long as the emperor and the vassal king support one side at the same time, that person will definitely be able to ascend the throne. Based on this, Zhong Likuang's idea to Zheng Rong was: let the emperor express his position first, and then follow the holy will, and when the time comes, the prince will ascend the throne, then Zheng Rong will have the power to protect the sky, and he will have the weight of caring for his life, and his power will naturally be better.

This is really a foolproof strategy, but Zheng Rong has other ideas in his heart, and when he heard the emperor's opinion, he pondered, and said: "The emperor's advisers should take the important affairs of the society, and the ministers should also play the truth and dare not have the slightest partiality." The young and the old are orderly, this is the way of heaven and morality, and it is also the example of Taizu, regardless of the sage Bai Ding, everyone knows it. If Your Majesty insists on abolishing the elder and younger, it is not in line with the will of heaven, the middle is not ethical, and the lower is not close to human feelings, and it is not a well-being for the country, the newly established monarch, the hundred officials of the court, and the people of Li, are not well-being, and I hope the emperor will think twice......"

"I naturally understand this truth, but the second son of the emperor has the support of the inner servants and the forbidden army, and I am afraid that it cannot be moved lightly."

When Zheng Rong heard this, his eyes emitted a terrifying brilliance, and he said: "The imperial brother doesn't need to worry too much, if you are afraid that the second son of the emperor will not lose his tail, the younger brother is willing to return to the field and give up the throne of Youyan to the second son of the emperor." The younger brother is not talented, ten years of operation, only saved 100,000 elite soldiers, 100 good generals, only knows how to protect the family and defend the country, does not know how to make trouble, enough to resist the enemy......"

Listening to this, the thoughts of Zheng Yong, the Son of Heaven, couldn't help but go back to twelve years ago.

Emperor Jing succeeded to the throne at the age of 30 and reigned for another 20 years. However, after all, the reason of heaven is difficult, and the voices of the ministers of the DPRK and China to persuade the crown prince are very loud. Emperor Jing was energetic, gave birth to thirteen sons, and was known as the "Thirteen Taibao", especially the four sons Zheng Yong, Zheng Rong, Zheng Hua, and Zheng Gui were all over 28 years old, and could be canonized as the crown prince.

The eldest son, Zheng Yong, is loyal and old-fashioned, benevolent and deep, and has the style of an elder. The second son, Zheng Rong, is both civil and military, broad-minded, friends but not parties, and has the greatest prestige in the government and the opposition, and is considered to be the lord of Yao Shun. The third son, Zheng Hua, was frail and sickly since he was a child, and he knew that he could not compete with his brothers, so he devoted himself to academics, did not care about politics, and was the most knowledgeable. The fourth son, Zheng Gui, is quite martial arts, and is good at calculation, buys people's hearts everywhere, and is the most favored by Emperor Jing, meaning that he is shorter and longer than the eldest brother and the second brother.

Although these four people have their own merits, among them, the second son Zheng Rong is the most powerful. In the early years of Emperor Jing, the Turks tore up the agreement and began to harass the Han Pass, looting property and plundering people. In order to counter the Turkic encroachment, the imperial court often sent a large army to conquer, and since the fifteenth year of Emperor Jing, the commander is Zheng Rong, the second son of the emperor. Through successive campaigns, Zheng Rong gradually promoted a group of generals, and his prestige in the army was not comparable to others. In the twentieth year of Emperor Jing, there was a drought in the north of the desert, there was no grass, and the Turks were unable to go south, so they conquered the Bohai Sea, a subject country of the Han Dynasty, and occupied Liaodong, and their power was even stronger. In response to the changes, the imperial court set up a new head of Youyan Dao to lead the military and political affairs of the whole province, and his best candidate was Zheng Rong. Since then, Zheng Rong has not only been in charge of military power, but also in charge of government affairs, and can also appoint and dismiss subordinate officials.

In the winter of the twenty-fourth year of Emperor Jing, Emperor Jing, who had always been in good health, suddenly suffered a stroke and fell ill, making the canonization of the crown prince imminent. For a time, the government and the opposition did not know the people's livelihood, but when it came to the establishment of the reserve, the political situation was extremely complicated.

In this case, the situation took a surprising turn - Zheng Rong, the second son of the emperor who hoped for the greatest prince, suddenly wrote a letter requesting that his brother Zheng Yong be appointed as the crown prince, and he was willing to lead the army to defend the northern frontier. After a very short period of silence, the government and the opposition realized that the emperor's eldest son, Zheng Yong, was about to be canonized as the crown prince, and he would also become the emperor in the future, and he would also gain the support of the powerful second prince, which was an indisputable fact. And the aggressive fourth son Zheng Gui had no choice but to take the initiative to go to the table and ask to guard Nanyue. The third son, Zheng Huaxiang, has no intention of seizing the heir, and he does not need to protect himself, so he continues to sit firmly in the study.

After the beginning of spring, Emperor Jing died, and the crown prince Zheng Yong successfully ascended the throne. The first edict issued by the new emperor was to canonize Zheng Rong as the king of Youyan; The second letter was to canonize Zheng Hua as the king of Heluo at the same time, and canonize Zheng Gui as the king of Lingnan. The nuances of this procedural sequence can be seen at a glance by the discerning person - the new emperor Zheng Yong has recognized the status of his second brother Zheng Rong as "under one man, above ten thousand".

Every time he thinks of this, Zheng Yong, who is now on the throne, is full of emotion. Therefore, no matter how the ministers of the court and the confidants of the court and their close servants advised that the King of Youyan must be prevented from supporting his troops and respecting himself, the supreme emperor is always like a chaotic wind: "My brother does not live up to me, and I do not live up to my brother." ”

Thinking of this, Zheng Yong couldn't help but let out a deep sigh, as if he had cast a small pebble in a pool of stagnant water-like silence, causing ripples.

Zheng Rong looked up at his brother, and also sighed secretly, after thinking about it, he didn't have anything to say, so he could only stand up, and said goodbye while making a gesture: "The younger brother didn't dare to disturb the Holy Lord's Qing Cultivation, so he retired......

Zheng Yong saw that his brother was leaving, so he hurriedly got up and stayed, not wanting that his ass had just left the dragon chair, and his weak legs made their owner sit down heavily again.

When Zheng Rong saw it, he was inexplicably sad, and he stepped forward again and blurted out: "The golden pill is originally ethereal, but the younger brother still advises the saint not to take it anymore, and it is the right way to take care of the dragon's body!" ”

Zheng Yong squinted at his brother, and finally replied softly: "I know, brother Xian should step back first." Zheng Rong then clenched his fists and slowly withdrew from the Shuli Palace.