After a small gathering, Lord Zhao returned to the palace, and several important ministers were able to leave the palace. Although there is a sense of relief that I no longer have to face the angry Lord, my mood is not completely relaxed.

The Lord reprimanded them to think about their own mistakes, and at the same time asked them to think about how to face and respond to the provocations of the Nan captives and the throbbing of the Quartet.

Therefore, after everyone withdrew from the hall, no matter what their mood was, they all put on a thoughtful posture.

Leaving the palace gate, the cold wind came directly to his face, Cheng Yao was already in a cold sweat, and he couldn't help but feel even more cold at this time, and couldn't help but shiver a few times.

The sky was cloudy like lead, and there was a thin snow in the evening, and at this time there were attendants busy clearing the snow, and there were palace people holding poles to knock down the ice formed under the palace. Several generals gathered together shortly after leaving the hall, and left with their shoulders hooked while whispering.

After seeing this scene, Cheng Yao's eyes were half ridiculed and half envious, and his mood was complicated.

At the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year, there were indeed many events inside and outside, but the Lord's reaction was so fierce that it was really thought-provoking. At least in Cheng Yao's view, the lord is indeed old, and his mood is different from the past.

As for these courtiers, it is really unwarranted that they are condemned by this. Including Cheng Yao himself, and even those seemingly reckless and scheming Hu generals, in fact, they all have a string in their hearts, and they have been trying to maintain their current wealth and power, and even seek more.

In the Central Plains, decades of war have been raging, those who have gained power and those who have lost power do not know how many, the decline of the Jin Dynasty is almost heaven's curse, and the remnants of Jiangdong are just the remnants of the partial branch outside Zhengshuo, how can the decline of the general trend be reversed by just one or two wars?

The Lord is also a horse for half a life, fighting in all directions, all the way from the non-smooth sailing, in previous years also won but not arrogant, defeated not discouraged, now the land of China is under control, but there is no previous pattern of spirit. Especially in recent years, the joy and anger, gains and losses have become more and more obvious, and the suspicion has become more intense, which is really regrettable, and there is also no lack of torture.

Especially Cheng Yao, as a long-time staff officer and a Jin person, he can't help but feel more obvious about this change. In the final analysis, it is nothing more than Hu Zhuzhongyuan, with a small royal big, no matter how brave and strong he looks on the outside, there is a lingering vigilance and inferiority complex in his heart. Especially when he witnessed and even personally contributed to the fall of the old lord Han Kingdom, this kind of vigilance has undoubtedly become more profound.

Cheng Yao also understands that in the eyes of the lord, he now treats and guards himself as Jin Zhun, and always hits himself with Zhang Bin, who has already died.

For this treatment, Cheng Yao was inevitably ashamed and frightened earlier, but now, he can't talk about habits, Cheng Yao just feels that this lord is really pathetic, he has long lost the edge and ambition of previous years, and is just a tiger who binds his hands and feet.

Obviously not at ease with himself, but he couldn't put his mind to get rid of him, worried that he would bear the name of widowhood and ruin the image he maintained in the past, so that the auxiliary ministers like himself would lose their hearts.

But in fact, what if Zhang Bin is alive? Cheng Yao remembered that in his early years, he went to fight Zhang Bin in the name of a private alliance and a ranger, and the lord immediately obeyed, why didn't he see the love and trust of Youhou at that time?

In the final analysis, this lord just hopes that they, the Jin people's auxiliary ministers, will always tie their honor and disgrace to their own thoughts, and will always only be his whip dogs and horses!

Although the tiger is old, it no longer has the courage to devour the Quartet, but it still has the abuse of biting brothers and sisters. Although he obviously feels that the Lord has no majesty in the past, Cheng Yao does not dare to underestimate this, he is just a branch born from climbing, almost no self-reliance, life and death are still in the Lord's thoughts.

But Cheng Yao is not reconciled to this, because of the indecisiveness of the Lord, the gains and losses, and even the appeasement of adultery, the dilemma he is facing now is not only whether he can keep his position, but has reached the moment of life and death!

He and Shihu, the king of Zhongshan, are already incompatible, and if either one gains power, he must get rid of the other party quickly!

"If you want people to share their hearts with you, then you can see that I am in danger?"

Cheng Yao laughed at himself, and then his thoughts turned around, and he began to think about the current problem and how to deal with the current thing.

In fact, he had to be summoned today, and Cheng Yao was also quite surprised. Because a long time ago, the Lord consciously downplayed his right to speak in military affairs, and he also understood that he was slightly inferior to the dead Zhang Bin in this regard, and he was rarely able to put forward a strategy to set the Quartet and plan from a high position.

But the current problem does not require much resourcefulness to solve, it is nothing more than the sudden rise of the Jin people in the south and make some counterattacks. In addition, there are many disrespectful people at home and abroad, and they are divorced because of the small setbacks of Zhao Guo, which has caused a situation of internal and external shocks for a while.

In fact, now that Zhao has gathered in China, the general trend has been achieved, and it is by no means that the defeat of one or two wars can shake the country's foundation. So the Lord's reaction to this one is too exaggerated.

In fact, as long as you choose a good general to give the Jin people a head-on blow, the focus is still on the stability of the place, although the Jin people have a momentary interest, but it is difficult to make a big difference. And the rest of the Zhuhu may have a momentary commotion, but they definitely don't dare to independently provoke the Zhao State, which is now in the right situation, and has a lot of room for division and disintegration, and suppression one by one.

Although he already thought this in his heart, Cheng Yao also understood that the Lord was small and big, and he always regarded the Jin Court as a big trouble in his heart, lest the Jin people fight back. This is really a thousand miles of worries, not humerus!

Obviously, the Lord intends to use thunderbolt and thunder to repel the counterattack of the Jin people, and at the same time deter the hearts of the four Yi who are ready to move. But this raises the question, if you really want to use it on a big scale, who can lead the troops?

Thinking of this, Cheng Yao understood the Lord's intentions. Let these people think about how to deal with it, it is just a lie, in fact, what to do, the Lord has a plan in his heart, and the reason why he does not bring it up is nothing more than scruples.

If you really want to use troops on a large scale, there are only a few people in the country who can use them, such as King Zhongshan. The lord wants to make a big move, but he is worried that the king of Zhongshan will fight hard, and if the king of Zhongshan takes advantage of this to take the power of the army, he will undoubtedly be free from the lord's clamp. And once the King of Zhongshan gains power again, then his situation will undoubtedly become very bad.

Therefore, this time, the Lord summoned a group of old people and made no secret of his fierce voice, on the one hand, to deter those commanders who had a close relationship with King Zhongshan, and on the other hand, to give him a chance to prevent King Zhongshan from taking control of the army.

But if you want to understand it, you want to understand how to stop the King of Zhongshan from taking charge of the army, Cheng Yao is still at a loss. First of all, he himself has very little say in military affairs, and secondly, the king of Zhongshan has made outstanding achievements in the past, and he is the master of Kuxiao, and he is deeply respected among the generals, and there is almost no one who can be replaced.

So when he left the hall just now, Cheng Yao saw those generals turn their heads and get together again, half ridicule and half envy in his heart.

The ridicule lies in the fact that these generals can't hear or see where the lord's jealousy lies, and still dare to openly gather together to make private schemes. The envy lies in the fact that even if they understand the Lord's intentions, they may not be able to restrain themselves, because they are not like themselves who are all in the king's hands, and they are unscrupulous in their own hands.

But even if he is at a loss, Cheng Yao has to face the difficulties, because he has no way out, once the King of Zhongshan gains power, he will inevitably suffer, so he must stop the King of Zhongshan from taking charge of the army.

At this time, there were scattered snowflakes in the sky, and Cheng Yao walked very slowly, and soon a thin layer of snow accumulated on the crown and robe, and his sideburns were dyed white, making him even more haggard.

Before he was about to leave the palace gate, his heart suddenly moved, it was too difficult to stop the King of Zhongshan on his own, and even if he did, it would inevitably arouse the suspicion of the lord even more against him.

It is necessary to prevent the king of Zhongshan from taking charge of the army, but also not to reveal his super control over the personnel of the dynasty, which is almost an unsolvable problem. Although the Lord has been suspicious of him in recent years, it is impossible not to leave him a little life. So where is his life?

Prince!

If the crown prince is in charge of the army and leads the foreign war this time, then many dilemmas that seem to be in a dilemma can be solved!

Prince Shi Daya is as he says, quiet and elegant by nature, deeply admires benevolence, righteousness and generosity, and is not like the son of Jiangmen, and is undoubtedly an excellent benevolent candidate. The lord is also extremely satisfied with the crown prince, but if there is one dissatisfaction, it is that he has few achievements in the military.

If this is a peaceful and prosperous era, it is naturally a lord of success, but now that the Central Plains is rough and far from being peaceful, it is indeed a bit inappropriate for such a benevolent monarch to succeed him.

And the Lord must be well aware of this. His suspicion of his subordinates is nothing more than based on this worry, worried that he will use his uncle to harm the country in the future, so he connived and appeased the king of Zhongshan and other kings to prevent the power from falling. Worried that the prince would not be able to suppress King Zhongshan and other fierce generals in the future, he has always acquiesced to himself and others to attack King Zhongshan.

Such a use of power seems exquisite, but in fact it is risky, and the most important thing is that it does not have immediate benefits for the establishment of the prince's own status.

In this way, this time the lord is in a big move, and he is going to make a big move against the south, not necessarily just worried about the Jin people's counterattack. More or less, it seems that they also intend to use this to push the prince to the forefront, and establish the authority of the prince through the use of troops to the south!

Realizing this, Cheng Yao only felt that his thoughts suddenly brightened. It is true that the King of Zhongshan has a strong reputation in the army for a while, but if in terms of name, the crown prince wants to replace him, it is reasonable!

On the one hand, the prince does not have the experience of commanding the army to fight, on the other hand, the prince is the young king of the country after all, and the opponent is not weak, if it is easily dispatched, once the development of the war is not satisfactory, then it will be a great blow to the majesty of the lord and the prince himself.

In that case, what can you do?