"This ......" Yang Yuanzhi just wanted to restrain the ministers not to get entangled in the royal family disputes, where could he have time to do this useless knowledge in the market, suddenly speechless, sweat quietly oozed from his face, he couldn't speak, and suddenly he was agitated again, his body bowed softly, and he kowtowed and shouted, "Congratulations to the saint!" ”

Everyone looked in the direction of Yang Yuanzhi's bow, and the emperor Zheng Yong, who was originally sitting on the dragon chair, had already gotten up and left. Not everyone is a prince, and it is a big crime to deceive the king if he lost his etiquette before, so he hurriedly bowed down one by one, and bowed to Zheng Yong's swaying figure.

The night banquet broke up unhappily, and the two princes turned their heads and walked in different directions, and no one dared to stop them. Others don't have this privilege, and they are overwhelmed by the flower-filled and neon-lit royal garden. At this time, Zheng Rong stepped down from above His Majesty, whispered a few words to Yang Yuanzhi, the head of the hundred officials, and announced in front of everyone: "The imperial banquet has ended, please arrange two rows and be escorted out of the palace by the inner court guards!" ”

It's better to say it's an escort than a surveillance. Zheng Rong heard about the tension between the princes as early as when he was in Youyan, and after entering Beijing, he felt that this tense atmosphere had already enveloped all parties in the government and the opposition, and the confrontation between the princes at the night banquet was even more tense to the extent of saber rattling, and even the emperor himself could not control it; Now the thirty imperial ministers are dignified in the open, but secretly have ill intentions, and it is really disadvantageous to be placed in the palace forbidden late at night - after thinking about it in their hearts, they finally decided to go beyond the throne and command everyone to go out of the palace together, so as not to cause extraneous branches.

The group walked through the magnificent and dimly lit palace complex, surrounded by tall and burly inner court guards, not to mention talking to each other, and even the atmosphere did not dare to breathe. This made Zheng Rong, who was the leader, feel like he was leading the troops in the field and sneaking into the enemy camp, and he secretly laughed in his heart. After meandering for a long time, the imperial ministers who came to the palace finally ran through the entire palace and walked out of the palace gate in disappointment.

The huge palace lantern hanging at the gate of the palace was more than one person high, and an endless procession was discharged along the yellow tile and red wall, emitting a faint and weak dark yellow halo, attracting the needless excitement of several moths.

Under the cover of the dim yellow lights and candles, Zheng Rong cautiously approached Prime Minister Yang Yuanzhi and whispered: "There are many people here, this king will go back for the time being, and come to Yang Yuanzhi's mansion tomorrow to disturb him." After that, he looked at Yang Yuanzhi nodded slightly, the corners of his mouth raised a smile, he saluted and said goodbye to everyone, and walked out without looking back.

It turned out that when Zheng Rong first entered the palace, he only knew that he was summoned by the emperor, and it didn't take much time to ask his entourage to wait outside the palace gate; Unexpectedly, after some twists and turns, I entered the palace at noon and didn't come out until night. King Youyan is the commander of one party, and what he says is a military order, so his entourage always waits in place and does not dare to leave. On the occasion of the golden crow landing, it is very convenient to have a follower, which makes Zheng Rong very proud, and he was about to greet the group back to the mansion, but he saw a thin head poking out of the carriage on the side, so he dismounted again and sat in the car.

The princes and ministers who went to the banquet were a little unhappy when they saw King Youyan's team slowly leaving, but they did not have an entourage to answer. Some of the royal relatives who couldn't hold their breath began to scold one by one "little rabbit cubs", but at the same time, they raised their hands to summon the little eunuch standing guard at the palace gate, and took out a piece of silver and stuffed it into the little eunuch's hand, asking them to hurry to their house and call the servants to pick it up. The little eunuch got the benefit, and disappeared into the dim streets. All the ministers were all born in Kejia and knew how to be reserved, and after saluting each other and saying goodbye, they left this land of right and wrong either alone or in groups.

It was none other than the strategist Zhong Likuang who greeted Zheng Rong into the car.

Zhongli Kuang shifted his body, gave up the seat inside to Zheng Rong, and said to the groom through the curtain: "Let's go." And the carriage staggered and went.

The wheels rolled unhurriedly on the bluestone paved road, making the axles moan, and the oil lamp hanging in the carriage shook with the shaking of the carriage. The shadow on Zhong Li Kuang's face flickered, and he became more and more gloomy: "The prince has been in the palace for a long time, I don't know if something has happened?" ”

Zheng Rong sighed and said, "It turns out that the battle between the princes has reached such a level that even the emperor is difficult to control...... and then explained to Zhong Likuang the opinions of Shi Liangzhi, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and the great eunuch Wang Zhonghai, the emperor's conversation, the battle between the two princes at the night banquet, and the attitude of the emperor's relatives and ministers.

Zhongli Kuang let out a long sigh leisurely, and was just about to speak, only to hear the carriage creaking, and his body rushed forward. The coachman reported: "Lord, the mansion has arrived." Zhong Li Kuang listened, and said patiently: "Please get out of the car and talk secretly." ”

Zheng Rong's temporary residence in the capital is not elsewhere, it is his mansion in the capital ten years ago. It stands to reason that after the prince was released to the domain, the original mansion in the capital usually had to be assigned to the corresponding level of royal princes, and specifically in this dynasty, it should be one of the two princes, Zheng Chang or Zheng Yao.

However, in order to express his kindness and longing for his younger brother, the emperor not only did not change it to other uses, but also asked the palace to arrange some eunuchs to maintain the normal operation of the palace. However, these eunuchs who were sent to the palace did not have the supervision of the steward, and not only did they perfunctory daily affairs such as cleaning the hall and building flowers and trees, but even stole the treasures in the palace and sold them, making the palace a depression. A month ago, the emperor summoned King Youyan to Beijing and sent someone to count the palace, and the illegal acts of the eunuchs only happened.

Emperor Zheng Yong, who had not been in charge for a long time, saw that the former palace had become such a situation, and finally moved his liver to anger, personally hooked several eunuchs who were notorious for their evil deeds, and reprimanded the great eunuch Wang Zhonghai fiercely and asked him to reorganize. After Wang Zhonghai received the holy decree, he went to the palace to take a look, only to see that after ten years of ruin, Zheng Rong's palace was almost only an empty shell, no different from the ruins, so he went back to report to the emperor and proposed to let the wealthy families in the capital temporarily give up their mansions to entertain King Youyan. Unexpectedly, the emperor was determined to let King Youyan return to his former residence, and reprimanded Wang Zhonghai again, and said angrily at the end, "If you can do it, you can do it, and if you can't do it, you will change people."

Wang Zhonghai panicked at this time, and even his cronies around him were not at ease, so he personally commanded the reconstruction of the palace and arranged a large number of manpower to rectify the palace building; He took the lead in returning the treasures that the little eunuch stole from the palace to honor him; Let the people in the palace release words to the royal relatives, high-ranking officials, landlords, and wealthy merchants in Beijing, saying that they must hand over the treasures in the original palace, otherwise they will be punished; In order to rebuild the garden, exotic flowers and plants were specially transferred from the nursery of the Imperial Garden and planted in the back garden. After all this hard work, the palace finally recovered the weather of the year.

Zheng Rong didn't know about the above twists and turns, he just thought it was the emperor's trust in him, but he didn't know that he had put on countless treasures and a few lives for his own peace for a few days. However, this toss really made Zheng Rong feel a lot more comfortable, along the familiar path, looking at the familiar scenery, stepping on the familiar ground, and with a lot of emotion in his heart, he introduced Zhong Likuang into the study hidden in the depths of the mansion.

The plaque hanging at the main entrance of the study is inscribed with the three big characters of "Liang Gu Zhai" written by the first emperor himself, which not only ignites the allusion of "hanging beam piercing stocks", but also contains the sustenance of Zheng Rong to become the minister of the pillars and humerus. After they made tea, lit candles, and burned agarwood, Zheng Rong ordered: "I'm fine here, you have worked hard along the way, go down and rest tonight." ”

Three or two servants sang a promise, and left the study lightly, and the last to leave carefully closed the door. The study was even more silent, except for the faint whispers of the burning incense from the wax torch.

Although Zheng Rong indulged in military and political customs in the bitter cold land and had not tasted incense for a long time, after all, he was a royal noble, and he knew that it was the best when he smelled it, and he inhaled it endlessly, and suddenly he was in a clear mood, and said to Zhong Likuang: "Mr. just wanted to speak and stopped, I don't know what to say?" ”

Zhongli Kuang was not interested in tasting incense, but he listened to the footsteps of a few subordinates gradually moving away, and then he stood up, faced the endless darkness outside the window, and said in a non-questionable manner: "Han Sheng is a weak scholar, and he has failed many times, which can be described as useless, but he has a bad problem of fake Qinggao, and he originally planned to spend his life in vain. Fortunately, the prince was hired as a guest of honor, and over the years, he was entrusted with great power and obeyed his words, so that the students were able to do their best. In this regard, the students are really grateful, and they don't ask for anything in return, but they just hope that the prince can adopt one or two, and they will be satisfied. Zhong Likuang said very sincerely, obviously moved, "But this time in Beijing, the bad luck is uncertain, so the prince and the students have already agreed on countermeasures when they were in Youyan, why did they change their original intentions now?" The prince is in danger of the safety of the Han Dynasty, and everything is cautious and cautious, and he is involved in the dispute over the storage position today, isn't it not putting the body of gold and jade on the sword? ”

Zheng Rong didn't care, and said with a smile: "The order of the elder and the young is the norm of human ethics, and this king, as a close relative of the royal family, should naturally maintain it. However, this king's point of view is only discussed with the saint, and Lord Shi and the prince and the prince discuss the prince with the king, and the king has not expressed his position, so it should still be neutral, right? ”

"Alas, the prince has great powers in the art of war and is well versed in the art of Qizheng, why is he so loyal in court disputes?" Zhongli Kuang shook his head as he spoke, "After today, I'm afraid everyone in the world will think that King Youyan supports the emperor's eldest son to become emperor." ”

"Why does the gentleman say that?"

"Hasn't the prince realized it yet? Although the prince's original intention was only to talk to the emperor in the Shuli Palace, there were many people in the palace, and the eunuchs, palace maids, and guards were all eyes and ears, and every word that the prince said to the emperor would immediately reach the ears of the prince. In addition, during the night banquet, the prince only ate the wine toasted by the emperor's eldest son, isn't this enough to show the prince's support for the emperor's eldest son? Zhong Likuang explained.

"Hey~ Mr. don't need to be alarmist, this king also publicly reprimanded Lord Shi Liangzhi who supports the emperor's eldest son today. If the conversation between the king and the emperor has spread throughout the palace, then I am afraid that this matter is already well known in the capital, right? Zheng Rong made a lot of sense.

Zhong Likuang shook his head vigorously and said, "The prince has the heart of a gentleman, where can he understand the belly of a villain?" Although the prince taught Master Shi a lesson, he also ignored the prince, which was already a good attitude. What's more, the words of the prince to teach Master Shi are completely different to those who have a heart. ”

Zheng Rong thought about it and asked puzzledly, "How do you say this?" ”

Zhongli Kuang was slightly silent, organized his language, and said: "In addition to the order of the eldest and youngest, there is also the difference between the descendants and the concubines. I Dynasty Emperor Taizu Gao read it too complicated, often cause disputes, so the abolition of the heirs, the succession to the throne only depends on the order of the eldest and youngest, and make an oath, so that the royal relatives and nobles are blood alliances, since the founding of the Han Dynasty, the saints and saints have all been based on this. Now the second son of the emperor wants to abolish the elder and the young, but he has the favor of the emperor and does not have the support of the royal family, and the second son of the emperor is urgent to win the response of King Youyan, King Heluo, King Lingnan, etc. And the prince made it clear that the eldest son of the emperor did not have to connect with the foreign domain, isn't it implying that the prince of the foreign domain has not broken his oath and still supports the eldest son? ”

"This ......" Zheng Rong couldn't help but be a little frightened when he heard it, "This is a strong word, how can anyone think so?" ”

"Huh." Zhong Likuang seemed a little proud, and continued to ask, "Who is the second prince's biggest reliance now?" ”

"It's the emperor...... Hmm......" Zheng Rong pondered for a moment and said, "And Wang Zhonghai." ”

"Yes, and the prince. Eunuchs, eunuchs. The eunuch is a wasted person, has no merit and a future, has no family, regards the life of others as a mustard, regards his own life as a mustard, and regards his own life as a mustard. Wang Zhonghai has today's status because of the emperor's favor, seeing that the prince's grace is far above him, how can there be a reason not to be jealous and resentful, I am afraid that there is a killing opportunity now. ”

Hearing this, Zheng Rong had some confidence and said: "Although there are only more than 500 guards brought by this king this time, they are all warriors who have survived nine deaths in the battle with the battlefield, and I am afraid it is not so simple to take the life of this king." ”

"The palace guards are flashy, and the soldiers in the capital are more than enough to bully the people and not enough to charge into battle, where is the opponent of the prince's hundred battles? But as the saying goes, open guns are easy to dodge, hidden arrows are difficult to prevent, Wang Zhonghai has been operating in the capital for a long time, and the prince has been in the land of tigers and wolves for a long time, which is never a long-term solution, and the minister also asked the prince to return as soon as possible. ”

King Youyan nodded solemnly and said, "What Mr. said is very true, but this king has made an appointment with Prime Minister Yang Cheng and agreed to meet tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, after the king and Yang Cheng meet, there will be a report from the flying pigeons of the Youyan defenders, and the Turks will suddenly concentrate their forces and have the potential to invade the south, and the king will immediately return to the north to command the battle. I wonder what Mr. thinks? ”

Zhong Likuang listened, then nodded with satisfaction, and said something irrelevant: "It's getting late, the minister has taken his leave, and I ask the prince to rest early." ”