The Royal Palace, the Imperial Garden, the Lotus Pond.

By the side of this beautiful lotus pond, Mu Xiaojiu had just done something that almost all the ministers in the entire court didn't even dare to think about - quarreling with the Queen Mother.

No, it might be more appropriate to say that it is a debate or an argument.

But no matter what, Mu Xiaojiu finally let the empress dowager, who was the mother of the little emperor, the wife of the former emperor and the spokesperson of the former emperor in the world, approve him. Regarding this matter, Mu Xiaojiu felt that this was a very good result, and the Queen Mother and the Little Emperor were also very satisfied with this result. Otherwise, the three of them would not have chatted by the lotus pond for a long time, until it was time for dinner.

"Empress Dowager Qi, Your Majesty, the imperial dining room is over there, and you can already use food." A low-browed little eunuch came in to report.

"Mu Qing's family, let's go, dine with me and the emperor." The Queen Mother smiled and beckoned to Mu Xiaojiu, Mu Xiaojiu wanted to refuse, but the little emperor seemed to see his thoughts, and persuaded together: "Let's go, Xiaojiu, it's just right, after a while, I have something I want to tell you." ”

Mu Xiaojiu knew that he couldn't refuse, so he had to agree to eat with these two people.

The little emperor Yingluan looked at his lazy look, and couldn't help laughing and scolding: "You can go proudly." If an ordinary minister can dine with me and the queen mother, it is regarded as a great gift, and how can there be a person like you, with a reluctant face, as if I sent someone to kidnap you to dine with me. ”

Mu Xiaojiu blinked, "Well...... Your Majesty, it's not that I'm reluctant, it's just that I, a person from the rivers and lakes, live a life of licking blood with a knife on weekdays, drinking wine and eating meat in a big bowl every day. Now I eat this imperial meal, firstly, I am afraid that I will not be used to eating, and secondly, I am afraid that I will not know the rules. ”

The little emperor was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a smile, "You said earlier, there is no such thing as eating habits, you can rest assured of this." As for the rules, I'll get those guys in charge of recording out later, and only you and I are left with the queen mother, so you don't have to worry about the rules. ”

"Uh, Your Majesty, that's not good......"

Before the little emperor could speak, the queen mother waved her hand first, "There's nothing bad about it, don't talk about the emperor, I also like to be quiet on weekdays, so I often retreat from others." Before the emperor ascended the throne, he had walked on the rivers and lakes for a period of time, and he was also contaminated with some temperament, so many of the rules in this palace were either abolished by him, or he made them a lot more relaxed. Speaking of this, the Queen Mother suddenly looked at Mu Xiaojiu with a smile and said, "Otherwise, Mu Qing's family thinks, how could you enter Su Guiren's palace in the first place?" ”

Hearing this, Mu Xiaojiu couldn't help but laugh. If it is according to the law, the minister can indeed be ordered to enter the palace to meet the emperor, but the harem? Hehe, don't even go in, you won't even be able to see the door.

Speaking of which, unconsciously, I seem to have broken a lot of rules...... Last time, I stayed overnight in the palace......

Going all the way, although there were not many people around the three of them when they were next to the lotus pond, after they came out, the team grew a lot. Guards, eunuchs, palace maids, etc., all stood around the three of them, surrounding the three of them like stars and moons. The Queen Mother was naturally riding in a chariot, while Mu Xiaojiu and the Little Emperor walked, but Mu Xiaojiu deliberately lagged behind the Little Emperor by half a step. Although he knew that it didn't matter if he stood next to the little emperor, he did it anyway.

After all, in front of so many people, you still have to save some face for your good friends.

Speaking of which, in fact, the emperor did not have a special place to eat, and he could eat wherever he wanted. Generally speaking, however, the emperor would eat in the place where he often lived or moved. And today, the little emperor chose to eat in the West Pavilion. The reason is simple - it's close to the Royal Garden.

Entering the West Pavilion, after the palace maid waited for the three of them to clean their hands, the little emperor directly ordered everyone to withdraw from the West Pavilion, and only the Queen Mother, the Little Emperor and Mu Xiaojiu were left on the second floor of the entire West Pavilion at this time.

Before eating, Mu Xiaojiu glanced at the table, it is estimated that there are twenty or thirty kinds of dishes and soups on the whole table, and the utensils used are all gold and silver, jade or ivory, enamel and some precious porcelain. As for the dishes, the size of each dish is not large, and it is estimated that there will be nothing left of two chopsticks for three people.

It stands to reason that when the emperor eats, he basically eats some and eats some, and will not put all the dishes on the table like now. But after all, the three of them did not leave anyone to pass the word in this West Pavilion at this time, so these dishes were naturally all served.

"Didn't I say it, Your Majesty, although there are many plates on this table, but ...... It is estimated that it is still not enough to eat, after all, it is a little little. Mu Xiaojiu pursed his mouth.

The little emperor smiled mysteriously, "You can't talk nonsense, you take off the cover in the middle." ”

Mu Xiaojiu looked in the direction that the little emperor was pointing at, and found that the little emperor was pointing at the boxy silver object that he thought was decoration.

Speaking of which, this can't be blamed on Mu Xiaojiu, after all, the lid is made of silver, with dragons and phoenixes carved on it, which looks very exquisite, and Mu Xiaojiu will naturally think that it is a decoration without knowing it.

Hearing this, Mu Xiaojiu stood up, and as soon as he raised his hand, he used the dragon capture strength in the longitudinal crane dragon capture, and the silver lid was directly sucked up by him. Then, a pungent smell of meat quickly spread.

Feeling the temperature coming from the lid that was sucked in by the qi, but was still some distance away from his hand, Mu Xiaojiu couldn't help but say: "It turns out that the charcoal under this table is not only for heating, but also for heat preservation. ”

The little emperor smiled and nodded, "How about Xiao Jiu, the vegetables can't fill your stomach, this little half suckling pig is enough." ”

Mu Xiaojiu smelled the tempting aroma, looked at the suckling pig with a golden color and dripping oil, and couldn't help but nod with his index finger, "Enough is enough, I won't rob you of anything else, I just need this suckling pig is enough." ”

"Tsk, the beauty of thought." The little emperor pouted.

The Queen Mother looked at the two people arguing, and couldn't help but purse her lips and smile, "Don't be like a child, eat quickly, don't you two have to talk about business later." ”

Having said that, the Queen Mother also knows very well that if she doesn't move her chopsticks, these two people will never eat first. So as she spoke, she took a bite of food with her chopsticks.

With the queen mother's proofing, the two were no longer polite and started to move one after another.

After eating, the Queen Mother went back to rest directly, while Mu Xiaojiu and the Little Emperor went straight to the imperial study, which was now about to become a special place for the two of them to talk.

"Okay, can you stop hiccups?" The little emperor rolled his eyes at Mu Xiaojiu, who was burping frantically, "I knew that I would be like this, why did you eat a little more just now?" ”

"Hiccup...... I'm not hiccup...... Not...... Didn't you hold back......" Mu Xiaojiu spoke while hiccuping, making the little emperor couldn't help frowning and taking half a step back, "Besides, didn't you burp a few times yourself?" ”

"Ahh You're probably going to have thirty hiccups. ”

Mu Xiaojiu smiled indifferently, "Anyway, hiccup...... I'm not an emperor anyway, so I don't need to burp...... How to pay attention to the image. ”

"Don't worry, tomorrow Lord Mu loves to burp this matter will definitely reach the ears of the Manchu Dynasty civil and military." The little emperor looked at Mu Xiaojiu with a serious face, "This is my guarantee as an emperor." ”

Perhaps the little emperor himself didn't notice that as time went by, in front of Mu Xiaojiu, sometimes he would no longer call himself "I", but would call himself "I".

Mu Xiaojiu rolled his eyes, "Okay, okay, you're amazing, you're the emperor, what you say is what-hiccup-" As he spoke, Mu Xiaojiu didn't hold back—or he didn't want to endure it at all—and a long hiccup was punched out by him.

"I rely on you if you don't hiccup!" The little emperor raised his sleeves in disgust and blocked it in front of him, "If you burp again, you will let me out, and come back when you have enough." ”

Mu Xiaojiu smiled cheaply, "Okay, then I won't fight." ”

The little emperor nodded, and suddenly reacted, "Okay, you kid, you did it on purpose!" ”

Looking at the little emperor who was about to fight, Mu Xiaojiu leaned back with a smile, "No, no, the last two are deliberate." Okay, okay, I know it's wrong, don't make a fuss, let's get down to business. ”

The little emperor looked at Mu Xiaojiu helplessly, and finally shook his head, "You, you're also an official, can you pay attention to your image?" I'm really convinced of you, and I don't know where to start when you interrupt me like this. ”

"Say whatever you want. Let's talk about my question first. Didn't we discuss it before, but this time I will go directly to the battlefield after I come back, where are you going to let me go? Mu Xiaojiu's face didn't matter, as if he was talking about someone else's business.

As soon as he talked about this, the little emperor couldn't help frowning, "Don't tell me where I want you to go, tell me what you think first?" There are many places to choose from, Great Yuan, Turkic, Western Xia, Great Qing, Tubo, Fusang-"

"—Goryeo, Nanzhao." Mu Xiaojiu continued, "I can go anywhere, I can go wherever there is a shortage of people." ”

Looking at Mu Xiaojiu's appearance, the little emperor was a little angry, "Can you serve a snack?" I know you're good at martial arts, but the battlefield isn't so easy, and if you're not careful, you'll lose your life on the battlefield. I don't think you're talking to me about throwing an indifferent person into battle. ”

"Okay, okay, I'll be serious." Saying that, Mu Xiaojiu's expression began to become serious, "First of all, I won't go to Dayuan and Daqing—not for myself, but for the entire battle situation." ”

The little emperor nodded with satisfaction, "That's right." Speaking of which, you and I have the same thoughts, you must not go to Dayuan and Daqing, you have too deep hatred with Dayuan and Daqing. The former has been turned upside down by you, and if they know that you are on the battlefield, it will definitely strengthen the offensive and bring a lot of pressure to the entire battlefield. As for the latter, the war between the Qing Dynasty and the Central Plains is basically Wanyan Honglie is in charge, and if you kill his only son, he will definitely not give up. ”

"That's right." Mu Xiaojiu responded: "Now they are just a loose alliance, and none of these extraterritorial forces are willing to invest too many troops until the war achieves greater results. But once I appear on the battlefield, it will be a battle of hatred, and Dayuan and Daqing will definitely not let me go. ”

"So, apart from these two battlefields, what do you think of the other battlefields?"

Mu Xiaojiu smiled bitterly, "I think, Your Majesty, you should introduce me to the forms of these battlefields first, after all, I don't know much about it, and it's not good to make a rash choice." ”

The little emperor bowed slightly, "In today's war situation, the least pressure is Nanzhao, Goryeo and Tubo." Nanzhao is because he can't invest too many troops, and Goryeo and Tubo don't have many troops, and the most important thing is that Goryeo and Tubo actually just want a piece of the pie, so it has always been thunder and rain, and the offensive is quite small. ”

"Secondly, the offensive of Western Xia and the Great Qing Dynasty was not strong. Western Xia did not invest too many troops because of the loss of troops in the previous war, and because of the wariness of the Khitan this time; The Great Qing Dynasty is because under your leadership, there have always been martial arts people who have secretly entered the Great Qing Dynasty to make trouble, so their forces have been dispersed. ”

"For the rest, the Dayuan, Turks, and Fusang offensives were the strongest. Dayuan and Fusang are okay, but the Turks are the most troublesome. Because among these eight extraterritorial powers, the Turks have a wide territory, a large number of generals, and a strong national strength, so they have the most sufficient troops. ”

"So...... I go to the Turks? Mu Xiaojiu said tentatively.

Unexpectedly, the little emperor categorically rejected him, "No, you can't go to the Turks." ”

When the little emperor saw Mu Xiaojiu's expression, he immediately understood that Mu Xiaojiu thought he was taking care of him, so he shook his head and said: "Don't think about it, I didn't let you go because of danger, but because the lord of Shaomin County of Dayuan worshiped under the door of Zhao Deyan, the Turkic national teacher, and you joined the Turkic battlefield is no different from joining the Dayuan battlefield, maybe you will be taken care of by the Turkic masters." ”

Mu Xiaojiu's face returned to seriousness, "That's good, so, you want me to go-" He asked with a little tentativeness.

The little emperor instantly understood what Mu Xiaojiu meant, "That's right, actually, I hope you can join the battlefield with Fusang." Although Fusang and you also have an enmity, Fusang itself is divided into two factions, one of which is true of having a grudge against you, but the other is not, which can play a certain role in restraining them. Therefore, I think the Fuso battlefield is the best place for you. ”