Qin Quan took the commander of the Left Route Army, although it was not legal, but since Emperor Zheng had acquiesced with one eye and one eye, no one dared to say anything more.

Xu Lin was indisputably in charge of the Chinese army, and there was still a commander of the right army left at this time.

Emperor Zheng decreed that the cabinet and the five major governors would jointly discuss the selection of individuals.

In this way, whether it is the military generals who have been suppressed for a long time, or those civil servants who are bent on becoming generals, they are all staring at the position of the commander of the right army.

Of course, the cabinet elders of Li Yan and Zhou Jingchao who have already paid homage to the prime minister will not go, and the five major governors who have already made a name for themselves, Zhang Qing and Qin Zheng, will not go, and it is impossible to go.

After all, there is already a King of Jin at the border pass, and if he goes to a metropolitan governor, Xu Lin, the giant python in the northwest, will really not be able to suppress these dragons crossing the river.

Behind the majestic red wall that is commonly known as the imperial city by the people of the Eastern Capital, there is a rare and exotic grass, even in the middle of winter, it is not monotonous at all, the plum blossoms are in full bloom at this time, and there are two old men stepping on the snow to enjoy the plum blossoms.

The two old men were actually about the same age, but one of them looked older, and after walking for a while, the old man who walked in the head walked to a pavilion and sat down, a middle-aged man in a python robe stood aside, and two little eunuchs carried a brazier twice as large as the usual brazier and gently put it into the pavilion.

In the Great Zheng Dynasty, the only eunuchs who can be called are people in the royal family, and they are above the county king. In the palace, there is only one person who can personally serve Sun Shilin, the chief eunuch of the inner court, Emperor Zheng and Qin Gong.

Emperor Zheng is old and tired of political affairs, so many political affairs are sent to the cabinet by him, and the cabinet drafts votes. Then it will be handed over to the celebrant eunuch, and the eunuch will make a decision on behalf of the celebrant eunuch, because it is written by the red pen, which is also the so-called "batch red".

If there is no proposed vote, there is no red to approve, but if the red is not approved, no matter how beneficial the cabinet vote is to the country and the people, it is also a dead letter.

This is the eunuch interference who has always been criticized by the world's scholars and Qingliu. But no matter how the scholars objected, the eunuch who held the seal of the celebrant also became a figure comparable to the head of the cabinet.

The reason why Sun Shilin is recognized as the first eunuch of the inner court and the outer court is because he is the current eunuch of the celebrant and the eunuch of the seal. Of course, the old man standing opposite him was not far behind, the head of the Great Zheng Civil Official, the first person in the cabinet, and Li Yan, the first assistant of the crown prince and the prince.

This time, Emperor Zheng visited the garden to enjoy the plum blossoms, and the first celebrant and the first cabinet were all accompanied.

Someone had already placed a layer of velvet cushions on the stone bench, and I couldn't feel the coolness on the stone bench at all. Qin Gong sat on the stone bench, put one hand on the stone table, and pressed the other hand against the head of the Dazheng Cabinet who was still standing, "Square, sit, this is not a court, you don't need to pay attention to so much red tape." ”

Da Zheng Shoufu Li Yan, the word is square.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. ”

Li Yan bowed lightly and sat down on half a stool.

Emperor Zheng asked, "Zhengfang, the candidate I asked you to discuss a few days ago has been settled now?"

Li Yanzheng said: "Back to Your Majesty, the ministers discussed for a day, and the cabinet drafted a total of five votes, but they were all returned by the celebrant supervisor. ”

Sun Shilin, the eunuch who had been standing on the side, said: "Li Xiang, if it is not for our celebrant to have objections to your cabinet, it is really the person selected by the cabinet, who cannot support the army of the Northwest Road, and his ability is limited, and he is not a general." ”

Emperor Zheng didn't show joy or anger on his face, he just frowned and asked, "Sun Shilin, what do you mean, who do you want to recommend?"

In Dazheng, the celebrant has the right to approve the red and is regarded as a minister, so a top eunuch like Sun Shilin also calls himself a minister.

Sun Shilin bent down, like an obtuse angle, and said softly: "Your Majesty, according to the minister's foolish opinion, the former Governor of the Secret Guard, Xiao Lie, the Duke of Anguo, seems to be more suitable." One is that An Guogong is an old man and a minister who seeks the country, and secondly, it is also good for An Guogong to atone for his crimes and calm down the rumors of the government and the opposition. ”

Emperor Zheng was noncommittal, and instead asked, "Who are the people in the cabinet who are planning to promote?"

Sun Shilin lowered his head and said softly: "Back to Your Majesty's words, they are King Song, Ping'an Hou, Zhou Guogong, Li Xu, a veteran who is idle at home, and Zhang Wu, the current governor of the Son of Heaven's army. ”

After nearly 40 years as a king, Emperor Zheng no longer has to rely on his mood to maintain his imperial image, and Lin Lao is even more obedient to his heart, and directly said coldly: "It's just nonsense, and it can't be a child's play to take military affairs as a child's play? Did the Marquis of Ping'an and the Duke of Zhou lead troops? And the King of Song? Anyway, the Marquis of Ping'an and the Duke of Zhou also served as errands in the military department, and they are not ignorant soldiers, and the King of Song, a literati, also came to join in the fun! Sun Shilin!"

Sun Shilin's waist bent lower, almost forming a right angle, and he replied softly: "The minister is here." ”

Emperor Zheng raised his hand, pondered and said: "Go, send a decree to King Song, punish him for half a year, let him cultivate at home during this time, when he feels that it is almost, when will he come out again." ”

Sun Shilin bowed his head and said, "No." He stepped back slightly.

After Sun Shilin left, Li Yan stood up and said, "The cabinet is ineffective, and I ask Your Majesty to punish it." ”

Emperor Zheng coughed violently, and the palace maid on the side hurriedly stroked his back, he covered his chest with one hand, and pressed Li Yanxu with the other, signaling him to sit down.

Li Yan took a step forward and said with concern: "Your Majesty, it doesn't matter to you, right?"

A palace maid took the spittoon, Emperor Zheng spit out a mouthful of thick phlegm, waved back the palace maid behind him, and said, "The old problem is sick, don't worry, sit down and talk." ”

"No. ”

Li Yan took a step back and sat back on the stool.

After breathing a sigh of relief, Emperor Zheng said slowly: "Zhengfang, how many years have you and I been the monarch?"

Li Yan replied after thinking for a while: "Back to Your Majesty, the minister was a jinshi in the first year of Zhengming, and in the same year, he filled the vacancy of Hanlin Editing, and it has been thirty-nine years since this year. ”

Emperor Zheng supported his body with his elbows, looked at the plum blossoms that were proudly blooming outside the pavilion, and sighed: "Thirty-nine years, half a year of kung fu in a blink of an eye." ”

After a while, Emperor Zheng waved his hand: "I'm tired, Li Yan, you should retreat first." By the way, tomorrow the cabinet will propose a personal election to be submitted to me, and I will personally approve it. ”

"No. ”

Li Yan got up and saluted, and then slowly exited the pavilion.

Emperor Zheng drove all the palace maids and eunuchs out of the pavilion and sat alone in the pavilion.

In the twilight of life, there are nothing more than two situations, one is to accept fate and think about what will happen after death, and the other is not to accept fate, thinking about how to continue life, even more so for the emperors of previous dynasties.

Emperor Zheng didn't want to accept his fate, but he had to accept his fate. He's old, but he's not confused. Knowing that there has never been an immortal emperor, he didn't spend his energy on it, but began to arrange the things behind him.

A light footstep came from behind him, and a beautiful woman who looked no more than thirty walked behind Emperor Zheng and gently put on a cloak for him, "Your Majesty, be careful of catching a cold." ”

There is only one person left who can talk to Emperor Zheng like this in the Great Zheng Palace, Concubine Yu.

And just after Qin Xian was named the crown prince, Yu Guifei was no longer a concubine, and her mother was already promoted to the imperial concubine by virtue of her son.

Emperor Zheng grabbed Concubine Yu's right hand on his shoulder with his backhand, and said softly: "If I remember correctly, you should have entered the palace in the twentieth year of Zhengming, right?"

Yu Guifei lowered her head slightly, and gently agreed: "Yes." ”

Emperor Zheng didn't turn around, he still looked at the plum blossoms outside the pavilion, "In the blink of an eye, you have also been in the palace for nineteen years, from the noble person back then to the current imperial concubine, the mother of the crown prince, and the future queen mother." ”

Concubine Yu pursed her lips and did not speak.

Emperor Zheng sighed: "This year is the thirty-ninth year of the front...... Thirty-nine years. I ascended the throne at the age of 30, and next year will be my 70th birthday. Life is rare for seventy years, and I am old, but I still have many unfulfilled wishes, and besides, Xian'er is too young. If...... If I were given another twenty years, no, ten years, I would definitely give Xian'er a peaceful world. ”