Ding'an City, the residence of the Sun family.

"Master, the ancestor is waiting for you in the study. As soon as he got home, Sun Ji'an heard the old servant's unhurried voice, and he didn't even need to turn his head to imagine the old man's gray hair and wrinkled cheeks, he was too old, like his father......

He nodded and said softly, "I'll go right away." ”

He walked through the courtyard and through the promenade, on both sides of which koi fish floated to the surface. These koi fish have been raised for too long, and they have long lost their agility, and they only know that they slowly swing their fins in the lake like fools, but the moment they see the figures, they gather to compete for food.

Sun Ji'an looked at these koi fish, but his heart was extremely calm, but he silently thought in his heart, would he be the only carp that could jump out of the water and jump over the dragon gate?

He shook his head and threw this thought behind him, and now, what he had to face was the old man who had stood at the top of the family for many years, and at the same time had hidden himself for many years, his father, Sun Zhong.

There was no light in the study, and he knew that Sun Zhong liked to be in the dark, and he would be even happier when the bright moonlight occasionally shone into the room.

So he opened the door, but did not close it, allowing the moonlight to shine in, casting a wisp of snow white on the ground.

Sun Zhong was lying on the recliner, his eyes closed, and the fur blanket on his body was slightly trembling by the wind. Sun Ji'an thought that his father had been suffering from wind and cold these days, and now he couldn't blow the wind, so he walked to the door again, intending to close the door of the study, but heard an old voice from behind.

"Don't turn it off. Sun Zhong opened his eyes slightly.

Sun Ji'an's hand was already on the door, but he still put it down, turned around, and saluted his father.

"Father. Sun Ji'an said.

Sun Zhong's eyes opened, his eyes were full of wrinkles, because the wind and cold had consumed his little vitality, and his eyelids were slightly drooping at this time, but a pair of eyes under the cover of his eyelids were still deep and sharp.

People say that he is scheming, Sun Zhong is such a person, as he gets older and older, it is difficult for others to see what he is thinking.

But Sun Ji'an knew.

"What did you discuss with the prime minister when you entered the palace tonight?" Of course, Sun Zhong knew about Sun Ji'an's entry into the palace tonight, and there were some doubts in his heart, but he couldn't be sure what was wrong.

Sun Ji'an said gently: "It's a state affair, father." Canghai and Tang have a new trend, and they have secretly joined forces and are preparing for war at the right time. ”

Sun Zhong nodded lightly: "Then what is the result of your discussion? Such a thing, presumably the general is also present, right? If you go on the expedition, where are you going? Border? Or the Mo family?"

"It's hard to say, and the prime minister didn't make a direct decision. Sun Ji'an nodded, the wind outside the door slightly blew the tips of his hair, but he didn't care about the coolness of the night, reached out and pulled the blanket on Sun Zhong's body up, and said gently: "That's it, father, my son will tell you the whole thing." ”

The father and son whispered softly under the bright moonlight, and Sun Ji'an still maintained a calm posture, his voice was not hurried, and his words were clear.

On the contrary, Sun Zhong's eyelids drooped even lower, showing a little tiredness, it seems that this wind chill has really shaken his foundation.

After listening, Sun Zhong said softly: "Zhuge Wanling is testing you. ”

"That's what I thought, father. Sun Ji'an said.

Sun Zhong paused, looked into his eyes, seemed to be thinking about something, and then said softly: "You have always been cautious, and your father is very relieved of you, but since you know that he is testing you, why do you want to take this risk? You must know that I have been teaching you since I was a child, the truth of shooting a bird in the head." Your plan, Gao Changgong can't hear it, is it possible that Zhuge Wanling can't hear it?"

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "That person...... But even fathers can't see through it. ”

Sun Ji listened to his father quietly, then nodded and said, "Father Mingjian." If there had been such a question in the past, I would have avoided it as much as possible. But now that my father has made me a doctor of imperial history, one of the three princes, even if I want to hide it, there will always be a day when it will be revealed. It's better not to hide it and say what needs to be said. ”

"I'm afraid not necessarily. Sun Zhong, who had been ill for a long time and could not be cured, looked Sun Ji'an up and down, his eyes did not look like a father looking at his son, but like a butcher looking at the pig that was about to be slaughtered, with a little killing intent, but this bit of killing intent quickly converged, turned into tiredness and helplessness, and let out a sigh of emotion, "It seems that ...... The eagle that seems to be well-behaved on weekdays will one day fly to that piece of heaven by itself. ”

Sun Ji'an's face remained unchanged, and he still said gently: "Father doesn't have to say this, in front of you, that eagle is still a fledgling after all, even if it can spread its wings, it still refuses to leave after all." ”

Sun Zhong shook his head and coughed slightly: "Can you tell me, what do you think?"

Sun Ji'an saluted respectfully and said, "Father's orders, my son dare not disobey." The son just saw that his father was not in good health these days, and he was afraid that his father would be distracted and delay his recuperation, so he concealed some of it. ”

Sun Zhong heard this, there was a little smile in his eyes, he has always been satisfied with this son, since he was a child, he has always been the most sensible one, sometimes, he even sometimes asks himself, is he too strict with his son?

Therefore, he indulged Sun Qing a lot, and of course, there were also factors of his preference.

"You are a filial child. I know. When you just established the crown, you were already able to take care of the affairs of your family, clan, and court in an orderly manner, and no one in the Sun family could compare to you. Speaking of which, I have been too harsh on you, and I have been pressing you for so many years and have never let you come out. ”

"A father is strict with his son for his son's good. If it weren't for his father's strictness over the years, his son might have become an idle man like the second and third rooms, and a person who only relied on the power of the family to make a fortune. ”

Sun Ji'an saw that Sun Zhong was a little tired, so he squatted down and leaned against Sun Zhong's side, so that Sun Zhong could speak softer and save effort.

Sun Zhong looked pleased, stretched out a hand, and gently held Sun Ji'an's hand, his hand was cold, Sun Ji'an's hand was warm, and a warm heat rushed down the blood veins to the tip of his heart, and even made his sick body feel a lot more comfortable: "No, you won't become like that." Because you have known since you were a child what kind of person you want to be, but over the years, I have ignored it. ”

"Let's talk about it. Sun Zhong coughed again, and Sun Ji'an hurriedly stroked his chest for him, "I want to know what you think in your heart." It's also considered ...... A rare heart-to-heart meeting between our father and son. ”

Sun Ji'an's eyes were gentle, feeling his father's rough palm, and he said in his ear: "The son is not afraid that the prime minister will guess his son's plan, just because the son and the prime minister are very clear that the reason why Jing Wu is Jing Wu is not just one or two people. It is the minds of many people gathered together that there is today's Jingwu world. ”

"It has been several generations since the fall of the Ji Dynasty, and the orthodoxy of the Wu State has long been cut off, and the people are suffering from war every day, so they yearn for unification, which is one of them. The scholars have been in turmoil for many years, you come and I fight endlessly, I don't know how many generations of families have been annihilated, so the scholars have long been tired of fighting, hoping to have a court to serve together, this is the second. ”

"The establishment of Jing Wu is by no means a coincidence, but the trend of the times. Otherwise, even if the prime minister had the wisdom of Qi Tian, it would be impossible to reintegrate the fragmented Wu Kingdom into the current Jing Wu. ”

Sun Zhong nodded and said softly: "You are right, if it weren't for that, how could the scholars be willing to gather under the banner of my Sun family, in the final analysis, they don't have the courage to take on this responsibility, and my Sun family has no way to retreat." ”

Sun Ji'an agreed: "Father is right. It is your father, who is wise and courageous, and dares to take on this heavy responsibility, and finally can achieve Jing Wu's current foundation. ”

"Less sycophancy. Sun Zhong said with a smile.

Sun Ji'an smiled slightly: "And the prime minister also knows very well that although the scholars of Jingwu are not friends, they are not enemies. If this pillar collapses, even if the court wins the hearts of the people again, it can govern the world, but it is not possible to rely on those people who don't even know the words. The prime minister's suppression of the Shi clan was nothing more than because the hand of the Shi clan was stretched too long, and even crossed the boundary, so he had to use such heavy means to suppress it. But the result of such suppression is also obvious: the original scholars were hostile to the prime minister, and after the destruction of the embankment and flooding the fields, many scholars were not even willing to go out, and seriously, they even planned to fornicate with the Tang State in exchange for benefits. ”

Speaking of this, Sun Ji'an sneered: "They are just a group of short-sighted mayflies, smaller than ants, born and dying in the twilight, I don't know that tomorrow the morning sun will rise as usual, and at that time, they can only grin in the sun and die in pain." ”

On weekdays, Sun Ji'an is gentle and elegant, and he won't even say a word of sarcasm on the surface, but this time, he used such a description, which surprised Sun Zhong, but he suddenly laughed.

This is good.

If Sun Ji'an really made up his mind to take that decisive road, it was not enough to be benevolent, he had to be ruthless enough, more ruthless than everyone else, otherwise, the ghosts and ghosts on this road would dig out his flesh and blood and eat it, leaving a pathetic skeleton.

Sun Ji'an said: "Jing Wu is now strong and well-fed, there are generals outside, and there are prime ministers inside, these two people are rare capable people in the world, and they are more like-minded, even if the Tang army is overwhelmed, it can only be returned." In that case, what is the point of those people who have fornicated with the enemy country? Instead, they are seeking their own death. ”

Sun Zhong said softly: "How do you know that Jing Wu will not collapse from the inside?"

A smile appeared at the corner of Sun Ji'an's mouth: "Because I know very well that my father will not be willing." ”

Sun Zhong's eyes were pleased, and he said, "Go on." ”

"My father is the leader of the Jing Wu clan, although he does not have an official position now, but the weight of every sentence is heavier than that of me, one of the three princes. If the father is unwilling to serve this Jing Wu one day, and wants to go to the Tang Kingdom or Canghai instead, he only needs to ascend to the heights and shout, and the scholars will gather around his father one after another, and at that time, even if Jing Wu is not destroyed, it will be impossible. ”

Sun Zhong held Sun Ji'an's hand tighter, and said with a smile: "But I know in my heart that if that's the case, will the Sun family still be the Sun family today? Is the scholar clan still the scholar clan today? If there is no court, why do we need officials? If there are no officials, it is difficult for us, the scholars who study the books of the sages hard, to go to the fields and farm the land?"

Sun Ji'an nodded and said, "And what I want to do is to follow the path my father has walked...... One more step forward. ”

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