Tuoba Zichu had no queen in his life, he worked diligently, was never ambiguous on the internal and external affairs of the empire, and was cautious in front of the old emperor. He is the head of the Central Province, and all the excerpts sent to the imperial capital will be personally reviewed by him, screened, and then presented to His Majesty. He was supposed to be a figure above 10,000 people under one person, but Tuoba Zichu was not interested in anything other than state affairs, and never managed interpersonal relationships, so that officials had no respect for him, and even spoke ill of him behind his back.

On the issue of establishing a prince, he is the only one among the most influential people in the empire who has not yet stood in line, the general Wang Shangguan Hongri is on the side of the eldest prince Tuoba Yuanji, and the eldest princess Tuoba Phoenix is on the side of the eleventh prince Tuoba Lie, these two people who have not stood in line but whose status cannot be ignored have chosen sides in the past year, which means that the princes' struggle for the throne has reached the final stage.

Tuoba Zichu is the person who knows the old emperor's thoughts best, and he never moves to say that the position of the prince is undecided, and the old emperor may take the initiative to come to the door for this matter.

This day is undoubtedly a big day, before the noble concubine Niang Ling Ruyi entered the prison alone to be accompanied by the emperor; after His Majesty the Emperor stayed in the Prime Minister's Mansion and chatted with the Prime Minister of the Empire, I believe that there will be a greater storm in the near future, affecting everyone in the imperial capital.

Shortly after His Majesty's decision to take charge of the Prime Minister's Mansion was made, another high-ranking and powerful man, a man who was used to hiding under the aura of the Murong family and was easily overlooked, Murong Nan, the right prime minister of the empire, got the news from the dark line he had placed in the palace.

His Majesty had not yet stepped out of the main gate of the palace when he received the news, and the speed of the source showed that he had placed the harem under his own surveillance. Murong Nan got a note, and after reading it, he re-examined it twice and immediately threw it into the lantern, so that the flame of the candle burned it completely, and the wolverine-like special eyes stared at the flames in the lantern, and the expression on his face changed several times: "The concubine made a cruel move, Your Majesty, he really couldn't sit still, and he didn't move, see what moth you can conjure." ”

"Uncle, what's going on. "It turned out that the eldest prince Tuoba Yuanji was sitting in the house, and as soon as the concubine Niangniang was imprisoned, he took the initiative to come to Murong Nan to discuss countermeasures.

The latter glanced at him and said, "The mountain rain is about to come and the wind is full of buildings, Yuanji, your good deeds are probably not far away." Hahahaha, hahahahahaha. Murong Nan seemed to have a premonition of something, and he smiled very happily.

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There are four mansions in Chang'an City that are located closest to the imperial palace and are incomparable to the residences of all others, and the owners of these four mansions are Tuoba Zichu, the left prime minister of the current dynasty, the general Wang Shangguan Hongri, the great prince Tuoba Yuanji, and the tenth prince Tuoba Zhen. With the seizure of the Ten Princes, the Prince's Mansion was abandoned, and now there are only three houses left that are closest to the Imperial Palace, that is, the three other than the Ten Princes.

Chang'an is not like other places, in Chang'an City is to talk about the rules, you live in the house, the sedan chair you sit on, the tableware you use, including what to eat, there are strict rules, once you trespass it is a felony, it is to kill the head or even punish the nine clans.

The mansion of four people, because the general Wang is out all the year round, there is only one family in the mansion, and there is relatively little movement with people on weekdays; the ten princes Tuoba are really good friends with the world's heroes, and the guests are the most; the guests of the great prince Tuoba Yuanji are mostly monks and officials, and relatively speaking, the personnel in and out of the palace are also relatively complicated; only Tuoba Zichu, according to the actual power, he is the second person in the empire after His Majesty, but the door of his house is always deserted, and even the guards are old, and it is estimated that he has been with his master for many years。

Tuoba Zichu's family house has always been closed, there is no sound of dogs and horses, no singing and dancing, only a unique taste of ink, Tuoba Zichu's only hobby in his life is painting, each of his paintings is relaxed, priceless, but never sold out, because of the fear that someone will bribe him, this habit has been maintained from the day he became the left prime minister of the empire to this day.

The arrival of the old emperor did not cause much of a sensation in the house, and those subordinates had followed their own master for a lifetime, and naturally they had seen the emperor many times.

When the old emperor arrived, he was familiar with the service and everything was orderly, rational and orderly.

Tuoba Zichu came from the study, knelt down and kowtowed: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

The old emperor personally stepped forward to help him up, and said with a smile: "There is no need to be polite between monarchs and ministers, get up quickly, Zichu." ”

"Your Majesty, sit in the house!"

"It's been a long time since you've been here, it's still the same as before, Zichu, you've been like a day for decades. ”

"The old minister's loyalty to His Majesty has not changed for decades. ”

"Alright, alright, I know you're loyal, let's go, let's go into the house and talk, I have something to ask you. ”

"Your Majesty, please come with me. Tuoba Zichu led His Majesty to a hidden room in the backyard, and said to his subordinates, "You all retreat to the gate of the courtyard." "Look at the old emperor again, "Please come into the house, Your Majesty." ”

The old emperor nodded with squinted eyes, he sighed in his heart, sure enough, only Zichu knew my mind best, and walked into the house with the other party.

When the door of the house was well viewed, the old emperor stood in front of the ink hanging on the wall opposite the bookcase, and whispered the words on it: "Do your best, don't forget the grace of God!" Zichu, your loyalty really touches me. ”

"It is the duty of a courtier to be loyal to the empire and share worries for His Majesty. Tuoba Zichu replied modestly, he was thin and dressed in elegant clothes with a literati style.

"Who mentioned this letter? ”

"Don't hide it from Your Majesty, it's Zichu's teacher Fang Jingxiao. ”

"You still have that person's calligraphy and painting hanging on to this day?" the old emperor's tone suddenly changed, because he clearly remembered that it was the great Confucian of the previous dynasty who he had given him death.

"Although the teacher died, the teacher's teaching never dared to forget, my generation of Confucians, born to share the worries of the monarch, and died to be loyal to the country. ”

"Hey, it's a pity, that great confucian. ”

"The teacher adhered to the Confucian duty all his life, and finally became a monarch, and after his death, he also ended up with a statement, which is considered to be a well-deserved death. ”

"Do you Confucian scholars care so much about reputation? ”

"Confucian scholars regard fame as life, and a soldier can be killed, not humiliated. ”

"It may sound strange, but empires need people like you to thrive and grow. ”

"No, what the Empire needs is a great monarch like Your Majesty. ”

"Zichu, you have also learned to flatter me. ”

"Zichu is by no means flattering. Thinking that His Majesty reigned for 32 years, the territory of the empire expanded for thousands of miles, and the people of the empire lived and worked in peace and contentment, it can be said that it forged a prosperous era that had never been seen before and no one came after, and His Majesty's wisdom should be admired by the world, and His Majesty's achievements should be remembered by future generations. ”

"Zichu, you really think so. ”

"Zichu will never lie to His Majesty. ”

"Really?"

"Your Majesty has something, and Zichu is dead. Tuoba Zichu seemed to know what the old emperor was going to say, so he knelt directly on the ground and bowed.

The old emperor stood with his hands in his hands, his eyes turned away from the calligraphy and painting and turned to look at him: "Zichu, I do have something to do now, and it is a very difficult thing to solve that needs your help. ”

"Your Majesty, Zichu has no children and no daughters, and he only wants to spend his old age in peace, so he never intervenes in the disputes of the princes. ”

"Remember what you said earlier. ”

Zichu remembers. ”

"Who's you? ”

"Your Majesty. ”

"Then should you worry about me? ”

"Your Majesty, would you like to listen to your minister's heart. ”

"But it doesn't matter if you say it, even if the conversation in this room offends me, you will not be guilty. ”

"Then forgive me for being bold and outspoken, Wechen has something he has always wanted to say, and he has mentioned it to you on the side, but unfortunately you are indifferent. The so-called emperor is above, the state affairs are important, the prince is just a subordinate of Your Majesty, how can the monarch in the case of the reign of the princes indulge in fighting each other, such a practice will undoubtedly consume the national strength invisibly. As soon as this remark came out, it set off a storm, it turned out that this was the reason why Tuoba Zichu had not intervened in the struggle of the princes, and it turned out that this was his true thought, "The monarch has the skill to control the subordinates, and the checks and balances on the left and right are only one of them, but so conniving at the princes to make big forces and conniving at the princes to fight each other will undoubtedly exacerbate the division of the court, and will undoubtedly consume the national strength and keep the country in internal friction, which the minister has always thought is undesirable." ”

The old emperor looked at Zichu who bowed his head, and listened to him bluntly finally said what he had always thought in his heart, instead of feeling disobeyed, he felt relieved, which proved that Tuoba Zichu was really dedicated to the empire and himself, even so, the words that came out of His Majesty's mouth were serious, "Zichu, think about it, when did the struggle between the princes start to intensify, if I can stay young forever and be as energetic as in the past, will I sit idly by and watch the fight between them." ”

"The minister thinks that if you feel exhausted, you should set up a prince in advance, so that the court situation is stable and the ministers can be attached to. This kind of reluctance is the real cause of the current chaos. ”

"You're blaming me. ”

"The matter has come to this, and the minister has nothing to say. ”

"Zichu, you are not in my place, and you will not understand the difficulties of being on the throne. There are some things, some things, that I have to guard against. The old emperor sighed heavily: "The entire human kingdom is under my control, how many people are staring at my position, ready to attack and waiting to take their place." Even my own son has to be guarded against, and you should understand that there have never been such examples in history. ”

"The minister knows His Majesty's difficulties, so he always presses and does not make a sound. ”

"Yes, I can vaguely guess what you think, and it is true that as you expected, I am in trouble now and need your help. ”

"The minister has laid down three strategies for His Majesty, which are the upper policy, the middle policy and the lower policy. ”

"Oh? ”

"Deprive the general Wang Shangguan Hongri of his military power, cut off Murong Nan's phase, and continue to imprison the concubine and the ten princes. ”

"What about the middle strategy. ”

"Take the concubine back to the palace and release the imprisonment of the ten princes. ”

"The best policy. ”

"Immediately set up the prince, Shangguan Hongri, Murong Nan, Tuoba Lie and Weichen were all stripped of their official positions and confined at home. ”

"Oh, none of the three strategies are beneficial to the concubine, how do you know that I don't want to set him up. ”

"The concubine family has never had the capital to establish reserves, but is just a pawn to contain others. ”

"Then tell me who I want to set up. ”

"It won't be the eldest prince Tuoba Yuanji, because Yuanji is incompetent and useless, and it won't be the sixth prince Tuoba Shou, who still looks on the wall like a nobody to this day, the city is too deep, and he only cares about himself and has no country. In addition to these two people, the other princes are even less worthy of choice. ”

"Hehe, you really know me best. ”

"Your Majesty's only choice is to continue to be the emperor and take charge of the government for thousands of generations, only in this way can the cause of the country become more and more prosperous, and the country will one day control the land of Kyushu. ”

"To be an emperor forever, you are saying this very strangely. As he spoke, the old emperor's voice became strange.

"Your Majesty, the minister has followed you all your life, and no one knows you better than the minister, but I am afraid that you have already planned the future. The reason why you indulge the princes to fight each other is to weaken each other's power and prepare for your future plans. ”

"Zichu, sure enough, I can't hide anything from your eyes. ”

"You need a strong courtier to suppress the ministers and maintain the stability of the court during the period when you can't directly control the court, and that candidate you have obviously decided now, that is Weichen. ”

"Zichu, you are simply a roundworm in my stomach, no matter what I think, I can't hide from your eyes. ”

"Please rest assured that Your Majesty, the minister will be loyal to the imperial power for the rest of his life, loyal to Long live, and will never change. ”

"Yes, only you can reassure me. I really need to hold the throne forever, because only in this way can the empire be stable for a long time, but I can't live forever, because there are strange people from all walks of life outside the human kingdom, and they will not sit idly by and ignore my abnormality, so I need to set up a bureau, a bureau that can logically be re-elected to the throne. ”

"The chess piece is the newly born prince Tuobari!"

"Yes, he'd be overjoyed to be one with me, right? ”

"I believe it must be so. ”

"After testing for such a long time, the temperament of the courtiers and princes has been vividly shown one by one, who should be punished, who to deal with, and who to reuse, I already know in my chest, it's time to close the net. ”

"Weichen has done his best for His Majesty, and he has died. ”

"Zichu, it's time for you to play, give full play to your residual heat to fulfill your last loyalty, go, go and do a big job, let it go. ”

"The minister's decree, long live my emperor, long live long live, long live my emperor will dominate the country for thousands of generations. ”

"Hahahaha, hahahahahahahaha. The old emperor Zhang Yang smiled without scruples, laughing very happily, very happy.

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