The father and son were relatively speechless, and after a long time, Ji Xie spoke: "Lonely has not had much time, and when it comes to governing the country, you have summoned the public to assist you, and you don't need to say much." There is only one thing, you need to keep in mind that if this matter is not implemented, the day of the fall of my Great Zhou Dynasty is not far away. ”

Ji Hu leaned forward and asked, "Please make it clear to my father, and the child must remember it carefully." ”

"The sub-feudal system is the foundation of my Great Zhou Dynasty. Because King Wu seized the world of Shang with the princes of a corner of peace, he had to divide the flesh and blood surnamed Ji to guard the Central Plains and pacify the Yin people. Now that several generations have passed, the princes have different intentions, and my Zhou royal family is gradually drifting away, if you divide the seal again in the future, you must be cautious. Ji Xie took a breath after speaking, he also knew that this was embarrassing his son, the sub-feudal system has been implemented for hundreds of years, how can it be abolished in one fell swoop?

After thinking about it again and again, he instructed: "Hu'er, don't say anything else, the official system of the Great Zhou Dynasty must be changed." Regardless of the resistance, the matter must move forward. ”

How Ji Hu didn't understand what his father meant. The system of official income in the Great Zhou Dynasty was almost "suicidal", and the officials' income was a real estate given by the Zhou royal family from time to time—land and land—rather than goods paid annually and monthly. Over the years, the Zhou royal family is most afraid of something like a war, once there is a war, the defeat is enough, and the victory must be given to the princes and generals who participated in the war. As time went back and forth, Wangji's land became less and less, so it was like the Zhou royal family cutting meat piece by piece on their own body and distributing it to these people for food. The princes and suzerains were getting fatter and fatter, while the Zhou royal family was getting thinner and thinner.

But it is impossible not to fight, and the four Yi are around, especially the Lynx in the northwest, and they will attack in a big way almost every three or five years, and the Zhou Chamber has to fight back, and sometimes even has to take the initiative to attack. Every time there was a battle, the Zhou royal family had to be crowned with meritorious ministers, and the land available for reward became less and less, the area became smaller and smaller, and the plots became more and more fragmented, and even more than a dozen acres, five or six acres of land were given. If you continue like this, sooner or later, you will cut off the little "flesh" you have left. In such a situation, Ji Hu has been in charge of the country several times, how can he not understand? He met his father's expectant gaze and nodded resolutely: "Yes, the child will definitely reform the official system, and start from here to make my Great Zhou a new atmosphere." ”

"Okay, okay." Ji Xie said this, as if his strength was exhausted, and he gasped: "You go back to the East Palace to rest, you are tired of being alone." ”

As soon as the prince came out of the main hall, the chamberlain Jia quietly entered the dormitory to serve King Zhou's sleep. Ji Xie glanced at him and beckoned, "You come close." ”

"No."

"There is one thing entrusted to you." As soon as the words fell, the chamberlain Jia was taken aback, and there had never been anything that King Zhou had entrusted to the people of the eunuch temple before his death. couldn't help but be stunned: "Why doesn't the king entrust it to Lord Zhaogong, how can the villain afford the trust of state affairs?" ”

Ji Xie waved his hand weakly: "Zhaozi Mu is a righteous gentleman, and he will disdain to do this palace secret business, only if it is entrusted to you, this matter can be done." ”

Only then did the chamberlain Jia put his mind at ease and said firmly: "Please ask the king, but it doesn't hurt to talk about it, the villain will definitely live up to the king's trust." ”

"Lone Ben is not willing to set up the E's as the queen, but the situation is forced by the situation, it is really out of helplessness. She could have been given death at this time, but she had the name of a queen, and neither Lone nor Aji wanted to be her company underground. I had to leave such a hidden danger and constraint for Hu Er------" He trembled and took out a silk book from under his pillow and handed it to the chamberlain: "This is an edict, you take it." If you die alone, the E's family will embarrass the prince and bring disaster to the Zhou family, and you will try to get rid of her. If the matter is revealed, you can take out this edict and save your life. ”

The chamberlain Jia took the edict with tears on his face, kowtowed, and said: "The villain will not pay the king's trust, and he will die without regrets." ”

King Zhou Yi had said a lot of things today, and he was exhausted, but he still forced himself to hold on and said: "Gu has instructed the prince to leave you to serve by his side, and you are not allowed to be buried." The prince ------ he also agreed, summoning the public as a witness, you can rest assured -----. ”

"The king thinks so much about the small, and the villain is really hard to repay." When the waiter Jia arrived at this time, he was really full of gratitude and couldn't cry.

"It's time to unload Lone's burden, so that ------ can easily go to Aji------" Two tears silently flowed from Ji Xie's eyes, wetting a pair of mandarin duck eyes on the brocade pillow------

"Sister, it's been almost half a year since you entered the palace, is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince treating you well?" In the small flower hall of the dormitory in the East Palace, the two sisters surnamed themselves, who had not seen each other for several months, were sitting and chatting with each other. As usual, it was my sister Meng Ji who was more interested: "Don't forget my father's words when he was leaving, now that the country is weak, it is inevitable to see that my surname is declining." The queen tried her best to let the three of us sisters marry into Hojing one after another, and the rise and fall of her surname will be tied to one in the future. ”

Shaoji lowered his eyelids, wrung the handkerchief in his hand and replied shyly: "My sister is not as high-minded as my sister, as long as I can serve by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for the rest of my life, my wish is enough." I can't control anything else, and I don't want to do it. ”

"You!" Meng Ji poked her forehead with hatred: "Are you stupid? Although the crown prince has a marriage contract with Shen Jiang, the big wedding must wait at least until the year of the crown. During these six or seven years, you have to make good use of it, so that the prince only has you in his heart. What a rare opportunity, for such a long time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is yours alone. Even I envy you! ”

Shaoji looked puzzled: "Envy me? Could it be that sister, you want Zhao Guogong to belong to my sister alone? ”

"You?" Meng Ji's face was full of crimson, and he turned his face away angrily: "I won't tell you, hum!" ”

The night of Xuanning Palace is extraordinarily long and lonely.

The dim and dim palace lamp reflected E Yao's pale face, and under the light, this face seemed a little illusory and unreal. The palace maid and uncle approached slowly with a coat in her hand: "Niangniang, it's late at night, let's go to bed early." ”

She hung her head and waited for a long time before she heard a long sigh: "It's hard for you, my Xuanning Palace is no different from the Cold Palace, everyone else is dealing with errands, only you are a solid person." Hongu remembers your benefits. ”

"Niangniang," the uncle choked up a little: "Don't you say that." Anyway, you are also the queen of the Great Zhou! ”

"The Queen? Hmph------" E Yao sneered and pointed to the dark palace: "Look at it, how can I look like a lady of the main palace here?" The king didn't even want to sue the temple, obviously because he didn't want to make me the queen, who in this palace didn't know? Who really thinks of me as a queen again? ”

The uncle knew that this was indeed the case, and when she saw that her master was really angry, she had to kneel down and stop talking. E Yao turned her face away, and her words were full of desolation: "Do you know? Since the king was seriously ill, I couldn't sleep at night, and I couldn't eat well, for what? ”

"Naturally, I'm worried about the king's condition." Uncle Yu replied without thinking. But in exchange for E Yao's sarcastic smile: "Worried about him? Since the death of the king, I have long since severed my friendship with him. I'm worried about myself, he has given death to Ji Jiang and Ji Jiang, which one he hasn't spoiled, let alone me who has long fallen out of favor? ”

"Niangniang," the uncle understood this time, and her body began to tremble: "Are you afraid that the king will -----?" Was she really scared this time? "No, no matter what, you are also the queen of the edict!" How can a queen be buried?

Thinking of the terrible appearance of Yiji when he drank the wine, E Yao's heart trembled: "I hope that as you said, the king will take care of the face of the Zhou royal family and the strength of the country, and he will open up the net!" ”

When these words were spoken, the master and servant no longer had the intention of going to sleep, and the two sat and cried with each other. Suddenly, there was a noisy noise outside the palace, as if there were many footsteps of palace maids walking. The concubine shouted, "What's going on outside?" ”

An attendant replied with a sharp voice: "Yu Niangniang, there was news from the hall just now, the king is gone!" ”

"What?" E Yao's heart rose to her throat, and she grabbed her uncle's hand: "What should I do?" You go outside the palace gate and take a look, if ------ if the inner servant Jia comes to pass the edict, he will definitely give me death. Just go! ”

"Okay, the maid will go over, don't panic, mother!"

Outside the main hall of the Haojing Palace, the inner attendant Jia stood in tears, and kept dragging a long voice and shouting: "The king collapsed——, the king collapsed-". The palace people knelt in a large area, and the sound of crying pierced the calm night sky. People changed into plain mourning clothes, white lanterns were raised in each palace, cloud boards rang one after another, and the peace of the pickaxe capital was broken by the sudden bad news.

The courtiers heard the sound of the cloud board, and the princes and sectmasters surnamed Ji, who had just participated in the blessing ceremony, put on their clothes and crowns, and hurriedly drove to the palace. Early risers are worried, how long will it take for the market to reopen? The owners of the tavern and teahouse are preparing to close their doors, and the national mourning period is not short, but they are afraid that they will have to find another way to make a living these days.

Only E Yao was full of joy, and the chamberlain Jia did not come, and she escaped. From now on, she will be the queen mother of the Great Zhou, no one will suppress her on her head, control her, how happy! She held her stomach and laughed in the dormitory for half an hour, and then she changed into her silk clothes and pretended to be a widow who had lost her husband to show others. Actually, the ghost is sad!

According to the etiquette system, the king of Zhou, as the co-lord of the world and the respect of the Son of Heaven, must be suspended for at least three months, and when all the princes of the world have rushed to Hojing, an official funeral can be held to show dignity.

On the second day of the death of King Zhou Yi, the eight gates of the pickaxe capital were opened, and dozens of fast horses carried the obituary of the king seal, running in all directions. Once the princes received the obituary, they had to come to the state funeral ceremony in person, and if they couldn't come, they should at least send their sons or important ministers to report to the new king------