From ancient times to the present day, the struggle for power between monarchs and ministers is an eternal proposition.

Generally speaking, as long as it is not the end of the dynasty, most kings can occupy a certain upper hand, which is the basic embodiment of the supremacy of imperial power and the most important operating rule in this world.

After the Great Qi experienced the Yuanjia Change, the imperial power inevitably suffered a more serious blow, and Li Duan could only choose to lower his stature and cooperate with the Jiangnan clan, and cede part of his authority, so as to ensure the continuation of the Great Qi Guozuo.

This is the reason why the Jing army was controlled by the Jiangnan clan.

Just as Li Duan said to Lu Shen on the cloud viewing platform that day, it is not an exaggeration that he has been walking on thin ice for more than ten years.

It is true that the Jiangnan clan is not monolithic, and it is divided into many distinct forces, and Li Duan can use them to check and balance each other to ensure the stability of his throne.

But in all dynasties, which king could tolerate the Jing army being in the hands of others for a long time?

After careful study, Li Duan's adjustment of the generals of the Beijing army this time is not excessive, after all, most of the military power will still be in the hands of those people.

Lu Shen took the merit of recovering a large part of his homeland and promoted him to a general with the title of a marquis, but he only temporarily led three armies and less than 40,000 people.

But for Baiguan, this is a very clear signal, if this step is directly retreated, the follow-up will be more troublesome.

The important ministers of the Manchu Dynasty all knelt down to admonish, as if Li Duan had made an extremely absurd decision, so that they could only choose this drastic attitude.

As for what the truth is, both sides are very clear in their hearts.

Among the ministers kneeling on the ground, Lu Shen, who was still standing, looked very eye-catching.

He had expected this situation, but he was still shocked to see it at the moment, and he couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for the Son of Heaven.

But what could he do?

On the same day on the Guanyun Tower, he persuaded the Son of Heaven to slowly figure it out, and the transfer of those middle- and lower-level generals might encounter some twists and turns, but it would not trigger collective opposition.

If the Son of Heaven sees that he will accept it, it will be very smooth today's political meeting, but he is eager to change the upper echelons of the Beijing army, which will undoubtedly provoke the resistance of these important ministers.

Lu Shen felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart, his foundation was in the border army, no matter how great the credit was, he couldn't reverse this strong group will, and he couldn't stage an all-martial act in the Wende Palace, and use force to force so many important ministers to bow their heads.

The court is a place that pays attention to rules, and if he doesn't pay attention to the rules today, others can naturally use the same means to deal with him in the future.

Unless Lu Shen has a strong strength above everyone.

The ministers were still admonishing, and it seemed that they would not get up until the Son of Heaven took back his order.

Lu Shen couldn't help but look at the old man sitting on the round stool.

At this time, even if Xue Nanting came forward to support the Son of Heaven, it could not play a fundamental role in reversing the situation, and only Li Daoyan, the left minister who ruled the Niu Er of the Jiangnan clan, had this ability.

At least he could change the attitude of some of the scholars, especially a few scholars.

Li Daoyan seemed to have a sense, he turned his head to look at Lu Shen, and gave the young prince an obscure look.

At that moment, the voice of an inner warden sounded outside the temple gate.

"Your Majesty, Jing Guogong asks to see you!"

In just one sentence, nine words suppressed the voices of the important ministers in the palace.

Li Duan breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and hurriedly nodded and said, "Xuan." ”

After a while, an old martial artist with a dragon bell staggered into the Wende Hall with the support of a middle-aged man.

Li Duan and Li Daoyan got up almost at the same time.

The Son of Heaven took two steps forward and then stopped, and then said to Lu Shen: "Marquis of Shanyang, support the Duke of Jing for me." ”

Lu Shen responded, walked quickly to the old man with sparse white hair, and grabbed his left arm.

The old man glanced at Lu Shen and smiled slightly.

He was Han Lingfu, the Duke of Jingguo, who was seventy-seven years old at the time, and was one of the only two princes of the Great Qi Dynasty today.

Before Xiao Wangzhi was promoted due to merit, Han Lingfu was the only martial artist who was awarded the title of Duke of the Kingdom by virtue of his contribution to protecting the country.

Lu Shen knew the old man's resume very well.

Fifteen years ago, when Heluo fell, Han Lingfu, as the head of the Jiangnan Road march, immediately supported Li Duan's accession to the throne, and the more than 70,000 troops under his command also became the predecessor and skeleton of today's Great Qi Jing Army.

In short, Han Lingfu was the founder of the north and south of the Beijing army.

It's just that this old man withdrew from the court many years ago because of his ill health, and he hasn't asked about the government for a long time.

What is even more commendable is that he did not dictate the military affairs of the imperial court because of his qualifications, nor did he allow the children of his family to join the army, and only allowed them to participate in the imperial examination to seek a half-official position.

It is also because of this kind of noble act that Han Lingfu has a very lofty position in the hearts of the soldiers of the Beijing army.

After seeing this old man appear, fine beads of sweat suddenly appeared on the backs of Guo Congyi, Wang Yan and others.

"Your Majesty, the old minister."

Han Lingfu trembled and bowed, and Li Duan hurriedly opened his mouth to stop him.

Han Lingfu insisted on saluting, and said slowly: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that the old minister doesn't have much time, if he doesn't salute today, maybe he won't have a chance in this life." ”

Li Duan couldn't help but have a sad look on his face.

Han Lingfu looked at Li Daoyan, who was full of emotion, and said with a smile: "Ming Dagong, how are you doing lately?" ”

Li Daoyan said repeatedly: "Okay, good, there is a record of Lao Guogong." ”

Han Lingfu glanced at the important ministers who were still kneeling on the ground, and sighed lightly: "My lords, since the old man begged for bones seven years ago, he made up his mind not to set foot in the court again. The old man also knows that you are all loyal ministers, and you should not talk about the major affairs of the DPRK and China. Merely...... Your Majesty, can you let them get up and speak first? ”

Li Duan's jaw said: "Han has nothing to say openly. Everyone loves to be flat. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The privy envoy Guo Congyi was the first to stand up, and the others stood up one after another.

Han Lingfu grabbed Lu Shen's arm, took two steps to the side, and came to Guo Congyi.

The dignified privy envoy bowed his head and saluted: "The last general will meet the grandfather of the country!" ”

Back then, Guo Congyi was able to enter the military center of the Great Qi from the command of the army of Yijie, in addition to the fact that he was from the Jiangnan clan, another important reason was the support of Han Lingfu.

In fact, he is not the only one, Wang Yan, Liu Shouguang and Li Jingda and other military bigwigs have more or less received the favor of Han Lingfu.

Time has passed, the younger generations have become the mainstay of Daqi, and they have a large number of supporters in the army, and Han Lingfu, who was once called the Shuangbi of Jiangnan with Li Daoyan, is old, except for the little personal soldiers at home, there is no descendant power in the army.

How many people still remember the kindness of those years?

Han Lingfu looked at the respectful privy envoy in front of him, and said slowly: "Guo Shumi, the old man is a dying person, some words may not make sense, you don't listen to them." ”

Guo Congyi said shamefully: "Grandpa Guo's words made the last general embarrassed, and asked Grandpa Guo to speak out." ”

A faint smile appeared on Han Lingfu's old face, and he said: "Regarding the restructuring of the Beijing Army, Your Majesty sent someone to ask you a few days ago, and the old man thought about it carefully, in fact, this is a good thing. Running water does not rot and the hub does not beetle, I believe you can all understand this truth, blindly following the old ways will only lead to the result of chronic diseases. ”

Guo Congyi bowed his head and said: "What Grandpa Guo said is extremely true. ”

Han Lingfu looked at Wang Yan again and said, "General, the old man understands your concerns, but you should also think about it for Your Majesty." Not only in the Northern Expedition in the past two years, but also in the border conflicts in the past years, the performance of the Beijing army was indeed unsatisfactory. Now that Your Majesty has such a plan, and there is an opportunity for the soldiers of the border army to enter Beijing, you might as well make a slight adjustment to see the after-effects. ”

Wang Yan sighed in his heart, lowered his head and said, "Yes." ”

In fact, the truth that Han Lingfu said is not important, the key is that he dragged his old body into the palace today, and used the incense he had accumulated for most of his life to help the Son of Heaven say something.

Whether it is Guo Congyi or Wang Yan, of course they can continue to insist on the hard top, but after this matter spreads, their prestige in the eyes of the soldiers of the Beijing army will be dealt a fatal blow.

From ancient times to the present, the ungrateful will naturally be poked in the back.

After today, if Han Lingfu made any more excessive demands on them, they would have a reason to refuse.

But not today.

In fact, when Li Duan invited Han Lingfu to enter the palace, the restructuring of the Beijing army had become a foregone conclusion.

The important ministers in the palace naturally understood this truth, especially after Guo Congyi and Wang Yan bowed their heads, the others did not continue to do useless work.

Han Lingfu looked at Li Daoyan again and said, "What about Mingda's public will?" ”

Before Han Lingfu entered the palace, Li Daoyan had been thinking about the decision of the Son of Heaven.

The change of middle and lower-level officers mentioned by Lu Shen earlier will indeed have a long-term impact on the future of the Beijing army, but this is a water mill and will not cause particularly obvious changes in a short period of time.

However, the Son of Heaven made a more direct decision, he divided the Northern Ya into two, let Liu Shouguang split Wang Yan's military power, and then divided the Southern Ya into three, Hou Yu and Guo Congyi each led one of them, and the third general appointed Lu Shen, one can imagine how much turmoil this appointment would cause.

Li Daoyan hesitated for a long time, and when he looked into Han Lingfu's eyes at this moment, he actually saw a bit of pleading in the other party's eyes.

The hall was silent, and even the Son of Heaven was waiting for the decision of the left prime minister who ruled the Niu Er of the Jiangnan clan.

Facing Han Lingfu's complicated gaze, Li Daoyan sighed in his heart, and said, "Guogong is reasonable. ”

He turned to the Son of Heaven and saluted, "The old minister supports His Majesty's decision. ”

At this point, the dust has settled.

Han Lingfu suddenly raised his hand and patted the back of Lu Shen's hand, glanced at this young man who had entered the capital from the frontier and walked into the center of power in Great Qi step by step, and then took a step forward.

He faced the Son of Heaven standing on the imperial steps, bowed effortlessly, and said earnestly: "Your Majesty, the old minister is tired of the emperor's favor, and he does not dare to forget it for a day, only the thought of being loyal to the monarch and serving the country." I only hate the crippled body and lack of strength, and I can't be loyal to the court. Seeing you again today, the old minister's wish has been fulfilled. After the old minister dies, there is no need to reward and seal it, and there is no need to seal the children. ”

"The old minister wishes, Your Majesty will be blessed for a long time, and the great Qi will last for thousands of generations!"

"Old minister, kneel down Your Majesty!"

He brushed off the sleeves of his robe and fell to his knees with difficulty.

Li Duan looked at this young Jing Guogong in a daze, and did not let anyone stop his actions, only bowed slightly.

Also with the gift of the Son of Heaven.

The hall was solemn, and the ministers were all moved.

Li Daoyan watched this scene quietly, and he couldn't help but think of many stories from that year.

At that time, the world was in turmoil, the dynasty was almost overthrown, and Li Duan, who was in his twenties, ran south in panic, and he and Han Lingfu were one and the same, supporting the sky of Daqi for the young son of heaven.

Fifteen years have passed, and the years have passed in a hurry.

The old man will grow old and pass away.

Lu Shen and the middle-aged man hurriedly helped Han Lingfu up.

Li Duan's eyes sparkled, and he said slowly: "Marquis of Shanyang, send the Duke of Jing Guo back to the mansion on behalf of me." ”

"Obey."

Lu Shen responded, and even helped the old man beside him out of the Wende Palace.

Coming to the square in front of the palace, Han Lingfu suddenly turned his head and took one last look at the majestic and solemn palace.

At this time, the old man gently patted the back of Lu Shen's hand again, and said kindly: "You are very good, I hope you can be better in the future." ”

Lu Shen looked at the old man's kind and meaningful gaze, and replied seriously: "Grandpa Guo's instructions, the last general must keep it in mind!" ”

Han Lingfu smiled and slowly walked towards the outside of the palace.

The back is thin, but there is the style of pine and cypress.

(End of chapter)