Yongjia North Gate, martial law today.

The people in the city did not panic, because the government posted a notice two days ago that Lu Shen, the general of the border army and the Marquis of Shanyang, took the spoils of the Northern Expedition to triumph today, and the imperial court would send important ministers to meet him outside the north gate.

At this moment, the important ministers near the north gate gathered, except for the Son of Heaven who took pity on the old man of Zuo Xiang and deliberately let him recuperate in the mansion, the rest were all present.

Headed by the privy envoy Guo Congyi, the right minister Xue Nanting, and the general Wang Yan, civil and military officials gathered here.

Today, however, the protagonists are not them, but three young men sitting under a pergola by the roadside.

They were all dressed in dark yellow robes, and their identities were self-explanatory.

Sitting in the middle is the eldest prince, King Chen Li Zongchao.

As the eldest son of Li Duan and Empress Xu, although he is not yet the prince, Li Zongchao's position in the hearts of some civil servants is very stable, because he is very in line with the standards of the king of benevolence, with a gentle and generous temperament and the idea of life, unlike the second prince who is too chic and elegant, and does not have the arrogant and domineering habits of the third prince.

On today's solemn and solemn occasion, the eldest prince is particularly calm and steady, on the contrary, the third prince sitting on his right seems restless, tilting his body for a while, and looking around for a while.

"Third brother, don't be impatient."

Li Zongchao endured it for a long time, and finally couldn't help but remind.

The third prince was named the king, and his name was Li Zongjian, but I don't know if the name was wrong, he was not easy to urinate since he was a child, and he could cause some trouble every once in a while.

In the winter of the year before last, because he stood up for Li Sanlang Li Yunyi, he bullied Lu Shen in public in Jingshui Tower, although he did not make a big mess, he was still grounded for half a year by the angry Son of Heaven afterwards.

When the ban was just lifted, Li Zongjian was honest for more than half a month, but he soon relapsed into his old ways, and he became a man of absurd princes.

Hearing the admonition of the eldest prince at this moment, Li Zongjian couldn't help but pout: "Big brother, if it weren't for my father's decree, I really wouldn't be interested in welcoming that guy." And to be honest, if you really want to choose a prince to greet him, just let me, an unsuccessful person, come over, how can I work with the eldest brother and the second brother in person, is he worthy? ”

There was no one left and right, and Li Zongjian didn't deliberately raise the volume, so only the three brothers could hear these words.

The eldest prince frowned slightly and said, "Don't talk nonsense, if you let your father hear it, you will definitely have to be grounded for two or three years." ”

Li Zongjian said lazily: "I'm not stupid, how can I say this in front of my father, unless someone tells you." ”

Li Zongben, the second prince and prime minister, who had been leisurely before, chuckled when he heard this: "Third brother, who do you say will tell the truth?" ”

"I don't know."

Li Zongjian shook his head and said rather shamefully: "Anyway, it won't be the eldest brother." ”

The eldest prince sighed helplessly.

It's not that he can't take out the majesty of his eldest brother, but the relationship between the prince and the prince is already very sensitive, plus the third child is quite loved by the queen, and he usually has no scruples and has no intention of competing for the throne.

If he is too strict with him, the government and the opposition will inevitably be criticized.

The second prince seems to have long been accustomed to the third brother's open-mouthedness, and said indifferently: "Since the third brother said so, then I will enter the palace to ask to see my father later, and tell my father what the third brother said." ”

Li Zongjian was stunned, and then smiled and said, "Second brother, I'm talking about playing." ”

The second prince smiled lightly: "Me too." ”

The eldest prince sitting in the middle sighed in his heart, this is probably the brine and tofu one thing and one thing.

The second prince Li Zongben was born by Concubine Liu Shu, and Li Zongjian was born to the same queen as him, but Li Zongben respected him as the boss, but Li Zongjian, who was a fellow mother, was always debauched in front of him.

And Li Zongben can easily suppress Li Zongjian, this is the strange relationship between the three princes.

The eldest prince didn't want to listen to the nonsense of the two younger brothers, and remembered Li Zongjian's previous words, so he reminded seriously: "Third brother, when the border army arrives in Beijing, you must not throw their faces, otherwise the father will definitely not spare you." ”

Li Zongjian said angrily: "Big brother, I'm not that stupid. Having said that, I didn't deliberately bury Lu Shen, I really don't understand why my father values him so much. I know that he made great contributions in the Northern Expedition, but what kind of battle is it today? In addition to his father and Zuo Xiang, the powerful people in Beijing gathered here, does Lu Shen really have such great dignity? ”

The eldest prince patiently explained: "Father is not just giving Lu Shen dignity. Rong Guogong is not allowed to return to Beijing if he wants to sit in the frontier, and other generals of the border army are not qualified, so Lu Shen is returning to Beijing on behalf of hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the border army. My father asked us and the princes of the court to come to greet us, in order to reward the merits of all the border soldiers, not just Lu Shen. ”

Li Zongjian smacked his lips and finally stopped complaining.

The second prince on the other side looked into the distance and said leisurely: "It's here." ”

On the official road in the north, more than ten horsemen galloped over, and there were more than 20 zhang away from the pergola, so they dismounted and walked, and bowed to the front and said: "Your Highness, the border army convoy has reached five miles away, and it is about to arrive!" ”

"Got it."

The eldest prince replied lightly, then got up and said to the two younger brothers: "Let's go, let's go forward to greet us." ”

The second prince stood up with a smile on his face, and Li Zongjian shrugged his shoulders and reluctantly followed.

The three princes took the lead, Xue Nanting and Guo Congyi were on the left and right, and the rest of the officials stood in turn according to the difference between civil and military and rank, and everyone slowly moved forward on the official road to show the courtesy of the Son of Heaven to the meritorious soldiers of the border army.

When the figure of the first column of border cavalry appeared in sight, the eyes of the third prince Li Zongjian narrowed slightly, and a cold glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.

The eldest prince sighed in his heart, the appearance of the soldiers of the border army is really different from that of the Beijing army, even if it is not very real from a distance, he can still feel the fierce and murderous atmosphere.

Immediately afterwards, all the cavalry of the border army dismounted, and as the distance between the two sides became closer and closer, the posture of the young military general who led the horse to the forefront met the eyes of the three princes.

When there were still more than 20 zhang apart, the cavalry of the border army stopped in unison, and the huge convoy in the rear gradually stopped, and then saw the young military general bow and salute, and said loudly: "Minister Lu Shen, please our emperor Sheng'an!" ”

Seeing this, the corners of the second prince's mouth hooked slightly.

The three of them continued to move forward, only Xue Nanting and other more than a dozen important ministers followed, and the other officials stopped in place.

As far as he got closer, the young general remained in a bowed posture.

The eldest prince gathered his mind and said loudly: "On the orders of my father, this king took two imperial brothers and the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty out of the city to greet the border soldiers who served the country and made many meritorious deeds!" Today's glory is to reward the merits of the country, and it should be praised and heard by the people all over the world! ”

Lu Shen saluted again: "Ministers and soldiers of the border army, thank Your Majesty for your grace!" ”

The eldest prince stepped forward slowly, supported Lu Shen's arms with his own hands, and said gently: "This king has heard all kinds of deeds of Shanyang Marquis for a long time, and when I see it today, I know that there is no vanity under the fame. ”

Lu Shen only felt a soft and tenacious force holding up his hands, and couldn't help but move slightly in his heart, and said calmly: "Your Highness praises falsely, and the minister is terrified." ”

This eldest prince seems to be inconspicuous, but he actually has a lot of martial arts.

What made Lu Shen feel even more strange was that the other party did not hide it at all, and revealed this little secret to himself with just a simple contact.

The eldest prince smiled faintly, withdrew his hands very naturally, and said: "The Marquis of Shanyang doesn't have to be too humble, you can be calm in the face of tens of thousands of Jing troops in the frontier, and destroy the enemy between talking and laughing, how can you be terrified because of this king's words?" If it is spread out, won't it be easy for the world to misunderstand that this king is a great hero who deliberately bullied the dynasty? ”

His words were naturally a joke, and only his identity could laugh on such occasions.

Lu Shen said unhurriedly: "Your Highness is here today on behalf of Your Majesty, and the minister does not dare to be the slightest abrupt. ”

The eldest prince was a little disappointed in his heart, although he was not very eager to make friends with military generals, but Lu Shen was too young, if there was no accident, he would become the auxiliary minister of the next emperor of Daqi, so he released goodwill one after another, but this promising border army general didn't seem to understand his intentions at all, and he couldn't help but feel like he was playing the piano to the cow.

It's just that his city is very deep, and he can't see the slightest abnormality on his face, so he immediately introduced Lu Shen: "He is the second brother of this king, the prime minister Li Zongben." ”

Lu Shen saluted and said, "I've seen His Royal Highness." ”

The second prince accepted this gift freely, and then unexpectedly returned the salute, and explained: "Don't be surprised by the Marquis of Shanyang, this king's gift is to pay tribute to the border soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country. ”

Lu Shen glanced at him without a trace, his lips were red and his teeth were white, and he was not like a noble prince of the Heavenly Family, but like a transcendent literary maniac.

The eldest prince didn't give them a chance to talk, and said: "This is the third brother of this king, Li Zongjian, the king of the building, you have had some misunderstandings before, and they must have been revealed, so it is better to take advantage of today's good day to shake hands and make peace." ”

Li Zongjian tried his best to control it, but his face was still a little ugly.

Lu Shen said: "Your Highness's words are serious, the last general is a courtier, how can he stand side by side with the prince?" As for the past...... There are a lot of them in the Third Highness, and they must have forgotten about it a long time ago, right? ”

Although his tone was very sincere, it seemed to Li Zongjian to be mocking, saying that he was a dignified prince and had no way to take a border general, but instead imposed a punishment of being grounded for half a year.

"The Marquis of Shanyang is a person who has made meritorious contributions to the country, and this king will naturally respect it."

Li Zongjian said lightly, any normal person can hear his resentment, let alone these spirits here?

Fortunately, the third prince who was not stingy finally understood what the occasion was today, and did not mess around willfully, but only slightly discordant in tone.

There was a faint undercurrent surging in the field, but the eldest prince was unconscious, and said with a smile: "Okay, you can talk another day." Marquis of Shanyang, except for the left prime minister who returned to the house to recuperate, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty are here today, and the father and emperor clearly said that this is to reward the soldiers of the border army, and I hope you can understand the heart of the imperial court. ”

Lu Shen followed the prestige, and Xue Nanting intertwined their eyes for a moment, and then looked over one by one, and then found that there was a strange martial artist standing next to Liu Shouguang.

He hadn't seen this person the last time he came to the capital.

Seeing this, the eldest prince said: "This is the new general of Nanya, Hou Yu of Nan'an. ”

Lu Shen nodded lightly.

He already knew the existence of this person from Li Jingda's mouth, and when he first saw it today, he felt that this person was not a simple-minded character like Li Jingda.

After Lu Shen and these important ministers greeted one after another, the eldest prince smiled and said, "Marquis of Shanyang, please follow this king into the city." ”

Lu Shen turned sideways and said, "Your Highness, please." ”

The officials waiting in place in the south lined up on both sides of the official road, and watched with great attention as the three princes and the young military general walked towards Yongjia City.

Hou Yu walked at the end of those important ministers, and after walking dozens of steps, he glanced to the side as if he had not yet done so.

Li Shizhi, the waiter of the Criminal Department, lowered his eyebrows, and didn't seem to notice Hou Yu's gaze, he just dusted off the hem of his clothes lightly.

Hou Yu's face was like an ancient well, and it was difficult to see the change in expression on his swarthy face.

Noticing Li Shizhi's simple movements, he immediately turned his head to look at the young people in front of him, and quietly sneered a few times in his heart.

Hello book friends, Doumiao has something to do today, so I got up in the morning to write these two chapters and send them out, and there will be no more in the evening.

(End of chapter)