For the cabinet of the Daning Imperial Court, the previous twenty years may not be regarded as the era of His Majesty Li Chengtang today, but should be counted as the era of Mu Zhaotong, even if Mu Zhaotong was deposed a few years ago, the first assistant of the cabinet was replaced by the original second assistant Yuan Toshiba did not change much, but Yuan Toshiba did not leave a unique mark on him in the cabinet at all, if it was mentioned by later generations, maybe the years when he was the first assistant would be called the post-Mu Zhaotong period.

Yuan Toshiba has been in the cabinet for more than 20 years, he is like a shadow, people have always only seen Mu Zhaotong but ignored his existence, no matter what Mu Zhaotong did later, in the more than 20 years that he was the first assistant, his time in the cabinet far exceeded the time at home, and it was also customary for him not to go home for ten days and half a month, so everyone had to praise his attitude at that time, and in fact, Yuan Toshiba was not?

Shoufu is still like this, who dares to relax and be contemptuous below, Yuan Toshiba is a cautious person, so naturally he will not offend Mu Zhaotong, so how long Mu Zhaotong has been in the cabinet to deal with government affairs, how long he has probably been.

However, he failed to leave his mark, partly because Mu Zhaotong was too dazzling, and partly because he carefully erased all his marks.

The yīn shadow left by Mu Zhaotong is too heavy, and the yīn shadow left to the cabinet is too heavy, so he can't break through, and his style of action is still the same as when Mu Zhaotong was in the cabinet, even if he is the first assistant, he is still indecisive in everything.

If he hadn't been so cautious that His Majesty had clearly shown his dissatisfaction with Mu Zhaotong, and he was still submissive to Mu Zhaotong, His Majesty would not have planned to let Lai Cheng come up so quickly, nor would he have transferred his disciple Kang Wei out of the cabinet so quickly.

Many things are predestined.

Lai Cheng sat there and looked at the emperor grinning bitterly, he knew that the emperor suddenly called him over to eat hot pot must be not as simple as eating hot pot, His Majesty meant to mention the Pillar Country to Shen Leng, what does the Pillar Country mean and what does it symbolize? Only generals who have made irreplaceable and non-negligible contributions to the country can obtain the honor, which is a kind of almost extreme glory and recognition.

Among the current generals of the Four Frontiers, Ye Jingtian and Wu Xinyu have just been named Pillar Kingdom, and it is really difficult for Shen Leng to face the ministers when he mentions it like this, but it is not really bad, is it just because he is young? Although he is only twenty-five years old and has been in the army for less than ten years, no one can clearly see the contributions he has made to Daning over the years.

However, because he is too young, he ......

Lai Cheng looked at the emperor: "Minister, can you not eat?" ”

"Can I remove your officer?"

Lai Cheng smiled bitterly: "It's not good to eat this hot pot, it's not good to ......"

The emperor said, "Then what do you think is good?" ”

Lai Cheng said solemnly: "Your Majesty asked the minister to return to the Imperial History Tower, quietly be a good official who can be scolded by anyone, sunrise and sunset, although he worked hard and scolded all the ministers, but the minister felt that he was still a teenager, how long has it been since he entered the cabinet, and the minister once saw that he was half a white hair......

The emperor looked at him and said seriously: "You still have time to look in the mirror?" ”

Lai Cheng sighed: "The minister didn't say ......"

His Majesty pointed to the chopsticks: "Eat!" ”

Lai Cheng had no choice but to pick up the chopsticks and was aggrieved: "Your Majesty, the minister has no good way, it can only be the old routine of bargaining, Your Majesty can give the cabinet a mouth, just say that he wants to seal Shen Leng as the Shangzhu State, and the minister will go to bargain with them again."

Counter offer ......"

The emperor nodded: "It's okay, there is one more thing." ”

He glanced at Lai Cheng: "I asked you to guide the second prince more, do you go often?" ”

"The minister must go to Concubine Zhen's palace every day to supervise the reading and writing of the second prince, and also supervise the reading and writing of the two children of General Shen's family, I have to say, Shen Ji and General Shen are too similar, is it not easy to be horizontal and vertical? But he just can't write well, but fortunately, the minister is strict enough, and Concubine Zhen is patient enough, so his handwriting is better than his father...... So some. ”

The emperor smiled and asked, "How is the second prince's knowledge?" ”

Lai Cheng replied truthfully: "The second prince is excellent in character and learning, although he is young, he has unique views on everything, and he is studious and humble, and he does not lose his determination. ”

The emperor asked, "What about the two children who are cold?" ”

Lai Cheng was silent.

The emperor glanced at him: "What attitude! ”

Lai Chengdao: "Your Majesty, it's not that the minister has a bad attitude, it's that Shen Ji, that kid, he really can't teach...... He is not stupid, he is only four or five years old and can already recite poems and lyrics, and his thinking is so quick that even his ministers feel ashamed for a while, but he is ...... But it's not in tune. ”

"What do you mean?"

"Yesterday."

Lai Cheng put down his chopsticks and sat up straight and said: "Yesterday, the minister went to the palace of Concubine Zhen Niangniang to check the homework of the second prince and the two of them, the second prince and Shen Ning have completed it very well, only Shen Ji did not write a word, the minister asked him why he didn't write, he said that what he wrote was not good enough, and it was best not to write it in his head, he said that the homework assigned by Mr. was not that he didn't want to do it, but he felt sorry for him when he made it perfunctory, so he had to not write it in order to have a clear conscience." ”

The emperor was stunned: "What kind of logic is this?" ”

Lai Cheng continued: "The minister punished him, let him compose poems, and if he couldn't make them, he was punished for standing, he said he didn't know what to write, and the poems were sensitive, and he didn't feel it at this time, so he couldn't write it, and the minister said, poems and songs are endowed with aura are all touching the scene and seeing the feelings of life, what thoughts and feelings or what experiences you have today, you can write them, so he thought about it, but reluctantly made a few words, he said it's too hot, then think about it with the hot weather." ”

He glanced at the emperor and cleared his throat: "The red sun shines on the mud pool, the air is curvy and the rocks are bent, sweating like rain, and when I go to the toilet, I don't bring any paper." ”

The Emperor's eyes widened.

Lai Cheng looked at him with an innocent expression.

The emperor was silent for a while and then asked, "Did you fight?" ”

Lai Cheng nodded: "Hit, hit the palm of the hand with the ring ruler, five times." ”

The emperor snorted: "You have to fight ...... you have to fight."

The old courtyard sat next to him and laughed: "This is like the words of a four or five-year-old child, if you can teach you well, you should be able to do a lot in the future." ”

The emperor thought of Shen Leng's virtue, and then thought about Xiao Shen Ji's appearance, and suddenly felt an inexplicable pain in his heart...... Then he woke up, his heart was distressed, thinking that if Shen Leng was not stolen by the queen but grew up beside him, he should also be as carefree as Xiao Shen Ji, with a clever, eccentric temperament, and eclectic behavior, but what about Shen Leng, how could he release his nature in Fish Scale Town, Jiangnan Province, it would be good if he could live.

Seeing that the emperor's face sank, Lai Cheng thought that he had said too much, and hurriedly lowered his head and said, "The minister will try his best to teach in the future." ”

"It's not your business."

The emperor took a bite of the dish and remembered that the last time he was in this Dongnuan Pavilion he was also eating hot pot with the old dean lai cheng and them it was the stinky boy who cut the dish this

In the past few years, that stinky boy has been fighting everywhere for Daning, not to mention that there is not much time in Chang'an, and Cha'er and the two children are also getting together less and leaving more, speaking of which, now the two children may not be able to recognize Shen Leng when they see it.

The old dean saw His Majesty's thoughts, smiled and said, "At the latest, in a month and a half, General Shen should also arrive in Chang'an." ”

The emperor snorted and took a bite of food: "Looking for Mr. and you to come over today, one is Yuan Toshiba's matter, the second is Shen Leng's matter, and the third is Lai Cheng's business, but these things are all immediate matters, easy to solve...... Yuan Toshiba, I gave him the honor he should have given and allowed him to go home, Shen Leng's matter should be rewarded, so it is nothing, three days later, I will inform the ministers, but the matter of the Northern Expedition, I am hesitant now. ”

Lai Chengdao: "The internal strife of the Black Martial Forces, if you don't fight at this time, it will be even more difficult to fight when the internal situation of the Black Martial Arts is stable in the future." ”

The old dean also said: "This is the best opportunity in hundreds of years. ”

The emperor was silent for a moment and then said: "I naturally know, but because of the Pingyue Rebellion in southern Xinjiang, the national strength has been damaged, and if this battle is won, it will be fine, but if the initial situation of the war is unfavorable, the opposition in the court will be louder...... If I use troops against the black army before the internal worries are resolved, I may really be scolded as a tyrant who recklessly fights and disregards the people. ”

Lai Cheng looked at the old dean, and the old dean was also looking at him.

Everyone knows that today's black martial arts are the weakest black martial arts, since the founding of Daning in the past few hundred years and the black armed forces have fought countless times, Daning has won more and lost less, and it is undeniable that the national strength of the black martial arts has always been above Daning, the territory is wider, the population is larger, and there are so many available tribes attached to the black martial arts, these people are cavalry on horseback.

For hundreds of years, Heiwu has never been so weak as it is now, the contradiction between the national teacher and the Khan Emperor has reached the point when the civil war is on the verge of breaking out, the Khan Emperor Sambrü has lived in the South Courtyard for nearly three years, and he does not even dare to return to the Red City, and the power of the National Teacher Xin Fengyue in the Red City continues to grow, plus the 300,000 troops in the North Courtyard have also grabbed a large piece of territory in the South Courtyard, no matter how you look at Sambrü is no longer Xin Fengyue's opponent.

At this time, give up the Northern Expedition, and wait until Samburu and Xin Fengyue divide the victory and defeat, Heiwu can go all out to deal with Daning's attack, and the success or failure of life and death will be even more unpredictable.

"I'm not afraid of being infamy."

The emperor raised his head and said seriously, "I just want to know if I can win." ”

The old dean and Lai Chengdu were keenly aware of something, and the two of them asked in unison, "Your Majesty is going to Northern Xinjiang?" ”

"It's better for me to go and see it in person, if I think this war can be fought, no matter what kind of infamy I can bear, a war will be fought out of Daning for a hundred years, what am I afraid of? But if I see it myself and think I can't fight, then ......"

Lai Cheng persuaded: "Your Majesty should not leave Chang'an lightly. ”

The old dean nodded: "At this moment, Your Majesty is indeed not suitable to leave. ”

The emperor said: "So I am waiting for Shen Leng to come back, last time Lai Cheng said that Shi Podang would transfer Shen Leng back after leading the army into Pingyue Road, I agreed at that time, I waited for the sailor to arrive in Chang'an, and I haven't seen my sailor well, so I took the sailor's warship all the way to the north, neither of you two should say anything about this matter, and no one can say anything before Shen Leng's sailor arrives in Chang'an." ”

The old dean and Lai Cheng hurriedly stood up and leaned over: "The minister understands." ”

The emperor motioned for the two of them to sit down, took a sip of wine, and then said to himself, "If I can't go north...... Who else? ”

This has never been Mu Zhaotong's era, and it never will be.

This was the era of Emperor Li Chengtang of Daning.