As soon as Changgong Longcheng and his party arrived outside the south gate of Luojing City, they saw from a distance that there was already a queue under the city gate to greet them.

Dazuo has a law that stipulates that all the princes of the feudal towns enter the capital,

All of them need to send someone to the household department to register, and then the Ministry of Rites will arrange the clothing, food, housing and transportation of the people who come to Beijing.

Although Changgong Longcheng and his party entered Beijing by order, they were no exception.

He had already sent a fast horse to the household, and it was assumed that it was someone from the Ministry of Rites who was meeting him at the city gate.

Sure enough, when the car approached, I saw a person in the queue walking forward quickly, first nodding and saying hello to Changgong Biannan, and then bowing to the carriage that Changgong Longcheng was riding; "Zhou Jingru, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, was ordered to welcome the prince's car into Beijing here."

Changgong Longcheng in the carriage heard that it was Zhou Jingru, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and he was quite surprised.

Let the second-class officials of the imperial court come to pick him up, and look at this guard of honor, I am afraid that the gift of the Son of Heaven is nothing more than that.

"Which one is this new emperor singing?"

Changgong Longcheng lifted the curtain and smiled slightly; "Lord Zhou doesn't need to be polite, this king has not been in Beijing for many years, and I ask Lord Zhou to take more care of him."

Hearing this, Zhou Jingru straightened up and said; "The prince is serious, if you need anything, just tell the officials to do it."

"Then thank you, Lord Zhou."

Changgong Longcheng nodded at Zhou Jingru, and lowered the curtain again, although it was a second-grade master who came to pick up the car, but with his identity, he couldn't stand it.

"The prince is polite," Zhou Jingru said respectfully.

Then he took the Chu Wangfu and his party and the honor guard into the city.

I don't know if it was intentional or unintentional, Changgong Longcheng and others were arranged to live in the Wutong Courtyard.

Why?

Because when Changgong Longcheng brought the princess Lin Su into Beijing many years ago, he lived here for more than half a month.

At this moment, Li Yi, the king of Qingyang, who was thousands of miles away, leaned on the flying four-clawed nine-dragon couch, played with the wine glass in his hand, and asked lightly; "King Chu and his entourage should have arrived in Beijing!"

"Yes, Lord Wang, however, according to the news that came back, before the King of Chu entered the city, he was stopped by a little girl and went to the Peony Pavilion to meet a Master Lu."

The person who replied was a man about forty years old, dressed as a scholar in white, looking quite white, and standing respectfully aside.

Hearing this, Qingyang Wang Jian frowned slightly and asked; "Can you see who that Master Lu is?"

White-clothed scholar said; "The Peony Pavilion is surrounded by masters, and they don't dare to get too close."

After the white-clothed scholar said, King Qingyang slowly straightened up, tilted the empty cup in his hand slightly, and the servant girl serving on the side hurriedly filled the cup with wine, looking at the elixir in the cup, King Qingyang's face returned to a faint smile.

"It doesn't matter, as long as it doesn't affect us. But this time, it's up to Mr. ”

The scholar in white naturally knew what he meant by dependence? waved his hand slightly; "I will naturally do what I promised the prince, but after the matter is done, please also ask the prince, don't forget your promise."

"That's natural, sir, don't worry." King Qingyang said with a smile.

However, at this moment, although he still had a smile on his surface, a trace of imperceptible murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and he snorted coldly in his heart, "It's really getting more and more presumptuous, you dare to bargain with this king, if you are not still useful to this king, who do you think you are?" ”

Let's say that here in the capital, Zhou Jingru sent Changgong Longcheng and his party to Wutong Courtyard, and after the arrangements were made, they left.

That night, they rested separately and had nothing to do all night.

The next day, when the morning dawn first appeared, the father and son of Changgong Longcheng changed into court clothes and rushed to the Chongde Hall of the Middle Palace to participate in today's court meeting.

When his father and son arrived, the temple was already full of ministers from all classes, and they were all lined up in order.

And the one sitting on the nine-turn golden dragon chair was the new emperor Li Lin.

I saw that he was wearing a golden crown on his head, wearing a dragon robe with dragon eyebrows, dragon eyebrows and phoenix eyes, dressed in colorful embroidered heavenly chapters, and full of purple gas.

After the ministers had finished calling for the mountain, Li Lin looked at the father and son of Changgong Longcheng who had been set up at the bottom of the steps, and instructed the eunuch on duty; "The king of Chu came from afar, and he was tired all the way, so he didn't hurry up to give him a seat."

When the eunuch on duty heard the will, he hurriedly moved the seat, not only unintentionally but intentionally, but also brought a five-clawed golden dragon chair.

Seeing this, Changgong Longcheng frowned slightly, and thought, let me sit on this chair? The five-clawed golden dragon chair is for the emperor, if you sit on it, you are afraid of falling into the truth.

"King Chu, please!" Just when Changgong Longcheng was thinking about it, Emperor Li Lin spoke.

Changgong Longcheng glanced at the smiling emperor and thought; "When you come here today, you must be calm, and if you come, you will be at peace, and you will sit on it, and see how he falls."

The decision was made, so after some thanksgiving, he also sat down peacefully.

Sure enough, seeing Changgong Longcheng sitting so calmly, those Wenchen generals who had long been unaccustomed to him and advocated cutting the feudal domain were already very unhappy, and they jumped out one after another, accusing him of not understanding etiquette.

also said that he not only dared to sit in the same hall with the emperor, but also dared to sit on the five-clawed golden dragon chair, and he must have wanted to rebel a long time ago.

Of course, Changgong Longcheng was not used to such slanderous words, and refuted them one by one.

For a while, the entire hall became a battlefield where the father and son of Changgong Longcheng and the ministers fought with each other.

And Emperor Li Lin has been watching the ministers arguing with the father and son of Changgong Longcheng, looking like he has nothing to do with himself.

If you look at it as an ordinary person, he is obviously a melon-eating crowd at this moment.

But he didn't really eat melons, the reason why he did this was to see how many people in this hall were inclined to Changgong Dragon City.

After a long while, Li Lin saw that his goal had been achieved, and the hall was quiet, and asked; "The King of Chu hasn't been to Beijing for many years, is he still used to eating and lodging?"

Tianyan inquired, and Changgong Longcheng also hurriedly replied,

"Your Majesty, Lord Zhou has arranged it very properly, and the minister deeply feels Your Majesty's grace."

Hearing this, the emperor smiled; "It's good to get used to it, the king of Chu has not returned to Beijing for many years, but I'm afraid that the fireworks in Kyoto have long been forgotten, and after worshipping the emperor, I will stay in Kyoto for a few more days and then return to Jinling."

"Yes!"

Changgong Longcheng replied respectfully on the surface.

I thought to myself, "Sure enough, the show is still to come." ”

However, the emperor's attitude made the other ministers feel very puzzled.

They originally thought that as soon as the emperor came up today, he would let Changgong Longcheng father and son hand over their military power.

But now he didn't say anything about it, as if he really wanted Changgong Longcheng to come back to pay tribute to the emperor.

"Zhongqing has something to do today, so let's retreat if there is nothing to do."

The emperor naturally knew what the ministers were thinking, but he was still smiling and pleasant.

"Your Majesty, the minister has something to play."

Under Long Yan's questioning, he saw that one of the ministers at the bottom of the jade rank was out of the class.

Seeing this, the emperor looked at this man; "What's the matter with the right minister? Please play. ”

It turned out that this minister was Lu Huaiyang, the chief of the court.

only listen to him play the heavens and listen to the words; "Your Majesty, you issued an order to summon the kings of all towns and vassal clans to enter Beijing to pay tribute to the first emperor, and it has been more than half a month, but now only the king of Chu has come. It can be seen from this that the King of Chu is loyal to His Majesty and sincere to the court, and the minister believes that His Majesty should be rewarded for being a model of loyalty and patriotism like the King of Chu, so as to comfort the hearts of the subjects of the world. ”

Hearing this, the emperor naturally knew what Lu Huaiyang's intentions were, and immediately agreed; "Aiqing is very right, I don't know what reward the King of Chu wants from me?"

Seeing that the emperor asked himself what reward he wanted? Changgong Longcheng hurriedly got up from his seat, knelt down and praised; "Your Majesty's grace, the minister is grateful, relying on the duty of the emperor to pay tribute to the minister, how can he invite credit with this? However, when the minister entered Beijing this time, there was indeed one more thing to report to His Majesty. ”

Hearing this, the emperor smiled slightly; "If there is anything to do with the king of Chu, just play it."

"Your Majesty, the minister is old and faint, and he is no longer able to sit in Jinling and lead the slave slaughtering army, and I hope that Your Majesty's quasi-ministers will hand over their military power, return to the township, and spend their old age in peace." Changgong Longcheng played and said what he said.

However, when the emperor heard this, he did not show that he was as happy as Changgong Longcheng expected, but waved his hand; "King Chu, your words are wrong, even if you are physically damaged, the slave slaughtering army should be led by the two sons of the Chu Palace, and there is no need to return it to the imperial court. Isn't it that the king of Chu thinks that I summoned you and General Long Xiang back to the imperial court specifically to seize the power of your and other soldiers? ”

Hearing the emperor's words, Changgong Longcheng and all the ministers were stunned, why didn't the emperor play his cards according to the routine today? The vassal king took the initiative to resign, didn't he fall into his arms? Shouldn't he accept it with joy, praise it vigorously, and finally give him a handful of gold, silver, and jewelry?

Changgong Longcheng was also confused, and hurriedly explained; "It's not that Your Majesty is not kind to the minister, but the minister is really old and faint, plus he fell into a hidden illness in the early years of the war, and now his health is getting worse, so he has such a request, I hope Your Majesty will grant it."

And the words of Changgong Longcheng were exactly what those ministers who advocated cutting the feudal domain wanted, so many of them couldn't help but go out to report for fear that the emperor would not agree.

"Your Majesty, since the King of Chu sincerely requested, I hope that Your Majesty will have mercy on him and grant him what he asks."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the King of Chu has worked hard for the country all his life, and now it is time to enjoy the glory in peace."

The ministers looked at Changgong Longcheng at this moment, and they had changed their faces, as if they were pitiful to an old hero who had dedicated his life to the country and was in his last years at the moment, and they advised him one after another, hoping that the emperor would allow him to return to the field and enjoy his old age in peace.

Seeing this, the emperor was also a little hesitant, looked at the subordinates, but found that one of them did not say a word.

I have an idea in my mind right now.

Just listen to him; "Qing and the others don't need to say more, I have made up my mind, the slave slaughtering army is still under the command of the Chu Wangfu, and I have given the Chu King the right to hereditary replacement today."

When the ministers heard this, their heads were buzzing, what is this special code? Why don't you follow the script?

Changgong Longcheng father and son couldn't keep up with the emperor's rhythm for a while, and a sentence kept drifting in their minds,

“What's goi

g o

？ ”

Everyone at the scene was in a state of confusion, only one of them was calm and calm, obviously knowing it well, but he covered it up very well and no one noticed it.

This person is Lu Huaiyang, the chief of the dynasty.

And the emperor didn't care what the ministers thought, he wanted this effect, and commanded to the subordinates; "Qin Concubine, in the future, your household department will allocate 200,000 taels of silver every year for the expenses of the Chu Palace."

After the holy word, I saw a man in the middle of the stairs,

"Minister, obey!"

This person is Qin An, the head of the household department, whose ancestor is Qin Chongshan, the founding protector of the country, and his father Qin Qi is the previous left minister.

And he is not only a household servant, but also a courtier, and his family background can be described as extremely prominent.

Seeing that Qin An had already received the order, the emperor smiled; "If there is nothing else, today's court meeting will be here, let's go home and eat, I don't have anything to eat in this palace."

After that, before the ministers could react, they took the left and right, turned into the screen, and left the hall.

Left behind a bewildered courtier.

At this point, the ministers had to disperse in twos and threes.

In this way, a court meeting became a reward meeting for the father and son of Changgong Longcheng,

Father and son were naturally very happy, but they were not stunned by this sudden good thing, and it was not necessarily a good thing.

When everyone dispersed, Changgong Longcheng grabbed Du Ruhui, the left minister,

"Xiangye, can you tell me, what's going on?"

He felt that as the emperor's right-hand man, Du Ruhui should understand what was going on today.

But to the disappointment of Changgong Longcheng, Du Ruhui shook his head, looking like I was also the fruit on the tree, and said with a wry smile; "Lord Wang, the old man is really puzzled, what the emperor did today is indeed a little unreasonable."

Changgong Longcheng stared at Du Ruhui seriously, he believed that Du Ruhui would not lie to him.

To say that the reason why Du Ruhui can have his current status is that he has a lot of connections with his Changgong family, so Xiangye's Mansion has always been friendly with Chu Wangfu.

And Du Ruhui is not strictly speaking, he is not a pro-emperor faction.

On the other side, Lu Huaiyang, the right minister, took several confidants and ministers around the Chongde Hall and came to the deep palace.

At this moment, in the Zhangde Palace, I saw that Emperor Li Lin had taken off his court clothes and changed into a white brocade robe.

In front of him, there was dragon liver and phoenix gall, qiong jelly and jade liquid, and he was drinking and listening to music on the ground of the old god, so uncomfortable.

He was in a good mood today, thinking about the appearance of the ministers who were being played with by him just now, and drank the wine in the cup directly.

"Your Majesty, do you want to add some more dishes today?"

Huang Gonggong on the side saw that the emperor ate so sweetly, and couldn't help but ask.

Seeing that there were still a lot of seven or eight dishes left on the table, Li Lin said; "No, there are so many more on this table, and they must not be wasted."

He, the emperor, deserves it, but he is frugal.

While speaking, Lu Huaiyang and the others had already arrived outside the hall, and after the Praetorian Guards guarding the gate came in to report, they got the emperor's permission before letting a few people in.

After a few people saluted, Li Lin said; "What are you waiting for me? As I said, I don't have food in this palace. ”

"Your Majesty, the ministers have a matter, I really don't understand, I have come to ask Your Majesty to solve the doubts for the ministers."

The person who spoke was Qi Anguo, the general of the Right Military Guard, a direct confidant of the emperor.

He is the only one who dares to talk to Emperor Li Lin like this.

"What?" Li Lin pretended to be puzzled and asked.

"Your Majesty, the ministers don't understand, why are you above the court today, not only did you not take back the power of the king of Chu, but gave him such grace?"

Qi Anguo expressed the doubts in his heart.

Hearing this, Li Lin first glanced at him, and then at Lu Huaiyang.

Seeing the emperor looking at him, Lu Huaiyang hurriedly stepped forward, "Your Majesty doesn't dare to figure out the holy will without authorization, so I brought them here to ask Your Majesty for release." ”

Lu Huaiyang is worthy of being a country's chief assistant, and he said this very well,

Originally, he secretly discussed this matter with the emperor, so in fact, he knew everything.

But he pretended not to know anything at the moment, this is the way of being a minister.

Li Lin looked at him with satisfaction,

Then he smiled and explained to several other confidants; "The king of Chu is loyal, he will not live up to me, I will not fail him, I just want those vassal kings who refuse to come to Beijing to see, what are the benefits to those who are loyal to me?"

The reason why Li Lin said this was that he knew that some of these people who were usually regarded as his confidants were eating imperial food and being other people's courtiers.

Saying this, it was obviously to make those vassal kings let down their guard against themselves.

Second, this is also for those true confidants, so that they know how much benefit they can get as long as they are faithful to themselves.

When the ministers heard the explanation, they all looked at each other, and they wanted to say something more, but they were stopped by Lu Huaiyang, the right minister on the side, with his eyes.

He handed over a few pamphlets and said; "Your Majesty, this is the recital of the kings of the various towns, please take a look."

"What did you say?" Li Lin asked.

Lu Huaiyang Road; "Most of them explain the reason why they were not summoned to Beijing."

Li Lin opened the recital and read it, but he didn't get angry, just sneered; "They're going to make excuses."

It turned out that the kings had recently sung anti-songs by Huangkou children in various domains, so they all played and said that it was to investigate the matter, so they had no time to come to Beijing.

As a result, they all became responsible for state affairs, and the emperor naturally couldn't blame them anymore.

Seeing that Long Yan was a little displeased, Lu Huaiyang offered advice; "Your Majesty, since the kings have spoken like this, why don't your Majesty order them to find out the person who spread the anti-song within ten days, and if they can't hand over the person, then Your Majesty will issue another decree to condemn them, so that they will have nothing to say."

When Li Lin heard this, he seemed to think of something, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly,

"Okay, then you will draw up a decree for me, and give them ten days to find out the people who spread rumors and rebel. If I found it, I asked them to bring it to Jingshi, and I personally interrogated it. If you can't find it, you will be punished for the crimes, not only to come to Zongzheng Temple to receive 20 military sticks, but also to pay tribute of 10,000 taels of silver and 200 beauties from all over the country. ”

He was sure that the kings would not be able to find out who spread the rebellion against the nursery rhymes, and in fact, his punishment had no effect on the kings at all, at most he lost face.

At that time, the kings will have to enter the capital, or it will be a blatant rebellion.

However, when they heard the emperor's will, all the ministers were stunned.

Where the hell is this to cut the domain, this is obviously in the name of cutting the domain, to satisfy his own selfish desires.

But after all, they can't help but listen to the emperor's words.

It's the kind of feeling I can't get used to you, but I can't you, and the thief is uncomfortable.