In the imperial garden of Jiande Palace, Zhao Zhushile wore a wide robe, sat on a bamboo couch, and several Meiji attendants on the left and right, each serving eating utensils. Shi Le's spirit is not too good, the gray hair remains a little messy after sleeping, the bags under the eyes are even more fat, the eyes are also cloudy, and the face is sickly pale.

The night before he was fortunate to be located in the other palace Lishui Palace outside the city of Xiangguo, the night wind and tide were slightly infected with wind and cold, this kind of small illness did not have to care, in the early years when he fought in the north and south, even if he was injured still able to persist in the fierce battle, but now he has to serve the old man after all, at this age, a wind and cold will make him mentally exhausted, sick and poor. Originally, it was a summer pastime, but as a result, he could only return to the garden to recuperate.

Two feet away from Shile's couch, there was a tall, white-faced, beardless man standing on his knees. This person is Yan Zhen, who is a regular servant, because of his wisdom and wisdom, and his courage, so in recent years, he has been trusted by Lord Zhao, and he often stands by his side and asks about everything.

After drinking a dose of medicinal soup, Shi Le's spirit improved slightly, so he simply sat up and said with emotion: "In the past, when I was young, I couldn't ask for people's blue eyes, and I hurt each other. Now it is extremely prominent, and the group seems to be loyal and good, and there are many vain requests. Whether the people are expensive or cheap, they are always hard to find. Is there an end to human desires? In previous years, two meals were not continued, and it was difficult to protect day and night, and he was in a dangerous situation, so he had to force himself to take it. But now that the name is added, the people are worshipped, and the happiness is worry-free, why do you want to have frequent desires? ”

The deep meaning of the Lord's emotion can be described as great, and Yan Zhen did not dare to respond at will, and only said after careful consideration: "Those who stop asking for two meals will plough in the wild." Those who stop seeking to survive will be despicable. Those who forge ahead should be driven by great desires, but the mandate of heaven is worshiped alone, and the Lord is crowned in this world, inheriting the mandate of heaven, and making the heroes of the imperial envoys, so that there is a revolutionary atmosphere of heaven and earth, and the chaos is established in China. It seems that ministers and other self-sufficient and fearful of death are mediocre, fortunately under the shelter, their wishes in life are sufficient, and they only have loyalty and righteousness for the rest of their lives. ”

"Self-sufficiency is rare, but unfortunately there are few self-sufficient and stable people in this world, but they are brave and brave, every time they are heroes and self-standard, and they seek big things with small things, and they will be in trouble and disaster in the world."

Hearing Yan Zhen's words, Shi Le sighed more, at this time, the inner servants came to report that Cheng Yao had been lured here, so he motioned for Yan Zhen to step back, and asked Cheng Yao what happened to him in the queen's palace, the corners of his mouth were already full of ridicule, and he ordered: "Lead him to the side hall for a while, and see you later." ”

The queen summoned Cheng Yao, Shi Le knew it, and even he instructed Yan Zhen to hint that the queen wanted to do this. Although the queen was not from a famous family, she was satisfied with both her knowledge and her virtues. Without his instructions, even if the queen was dissatisfied with Cheng Yao, she would not have humiliated the minister like this.

And the reason why he did this was also because Shi Le was dissatisfied with Cheng Yao's recent overactivity, and wanted to warn him to be more restrained and stop unscrupulously forming parties for personal gain.

Cheng Yao has this talent, but his shortcomings are also very great, and he has no self-knowledge because he is the emperor. In his early years, Shi Le treated him coldly, thinking that he would receive some lessons, but he didn't expect that after a little indulgence, he would relapse into his old ways, which also made Shi Le feel dissatisfied from the bottom of his heart.

However, at present, there is a slight emptiness in the country, and many etiquette orders need to be rebuilt, so it is not appropriate for the country to make any waves. In addition, Cheng Yao is the prince's maternal uncle, if Shi Le personally comes forward to beat him, it will inevitably have an adverse impact on the prince, so he handed it over to the queen.

Nearly an hour later, Shi Le asked Cheng Yao to be introduced.

resting in the side hall and taking care of his appearance, the dispersion gradually dispersed, although his cheeks were still red and swollen, Cheng Yao didn't look embarrassed. After entering here, he hurriedly knelt down on the ground, and before he could speak, he was already choking and weeping.

Seeing Cheng Yao's state, although Shi Le was irritable in his heart, he still had patience and asked Cheng Yao to be helped up and seated, and then said: "The queen abides by etiquette, the older her teeth, the more cautious she is." Even if it is me, every time we see each other, I have to be cautious, for fear that the faux pas will displease me. ”

Even if Cheng Yao was not angry in his heart, he didn't dare to say more about the queen's wrongs in front of the lord at this time, and after hearing the words, he just held back his tears and said: "The minister is not the door of the world, and he has only been dedicated to loyalty and righteousness, or he is not consciously doing anything worse than etiquette. ”

Shi Le was still quite satisfied with Cheng Yao's statement, and after beating, he naturally had to be encouraged. After all, at present, the military and political affairs in the country are frequent, and we must rely more on the strength of their people. Shaozuo Wen Yan was relieved to affirm Cheng Yao's recent achievements, and even authorized him to handle government affairs at home recently, so as to avoid this appearance in and out and causing criticism.

Hearing that the lord thought about him so much, and did not leave him idle because of the queen's attitude, Cheng Yao couldn't help but feel more, and even his resentment against the queen was slightly resolved. In the final analysis, the wicked woman was only from a rude background in the countryside, and although she was fortunate to be the mother of the country, she was still short-sighted in nature, and she cared too deeply about it, and she would have lost the physique of a minister, and it would also ruin the harmonious relationship between him and the lord and the lord who had recently become harmonious.

After the pacification process, Shi Le turned to hint at the cold food dispersion. Although the queen made a complaint with this, Shi Le knew that his illness this time was not due to dispersion, but because of the dark illness of the old years and the common feeling of getting old, and the doctor who was responsible for treating him also had a complaint. And he didn't take it directly after being dispersed, but the doctor identified and tested the medicine on people, and only swallowed it if it was harmless.

Born in a humble background when he was young, he suffered from the world's suffering, and after he became an adult, he fought for many years, and now he is sitting in China, although Shile is not obsessed with pleasure, but he does not follow the needs of this aspect, and is strict and simple. Moreover, the cold food powder offered by Cheng Yao is significant for the enhancement of physical strength and energy, and even the physicians who serve the medicine are respected, and the monk Buddha Tucheng that he values is also praised as a rare miracle medicine in the world.

Therefore, Shi Le did not reject this, and because he stopped taking the service, his sick body became heavy, so he couldn't help mentioning this matter to Cheng Yao now.

Cheng Yao had just been taught a lesson by the queen, and it was because he had palpitations that he dared to respond again when he heard the Lord mention this matter again, so he only couldn't hear the hints in the Lord's words, and he would never dare to secretly sacrifice again. Seeing him like this, Shi Le couldn't pull down his face and ask for it directly, so there was no lack of regret for people to send Cheng Yao back to the mansion.

Although he suffered such humiliation in the queen's palace after entering the palace this time, this is not a shame that Cheng Yao has never had in his life, you must know that in his early years, even his wife and daughter were abused and destroyed by the Zhongshan King Shihu. As long as the Lord keeps his faith in him, these humiliations can be endured temporarily, and in time, when the crown prince inherits the throne and his throne rises to another step, how can there be no chance of revenge!

This incident happened in the garden, and afterwards Shi Le banned it from spreading, and after Cheng Yao returned home, he lived ill and did not go out, even if there were visitors, they were received through the curtain. Therefore, there were no rumors outside, and even Xu Guang, a close ally of Cheng Yao, didn't know much about it.

Although he was recuperating in the mansion, Cheng Yao's situation was not affected much, but was even more advantageous than before. After all, in the eyes of the outside world, although Cheng Yao was sick at home, he did not suffer cold treatment because of this, and whenever there was a major decision in the country, the Lord would send an envoy to inquire, and many decrees that had a profound impact on the current situation were also frequently decided in Cheng Yao's mansion.

As a result, Cheng Yao's house was not deserted because of his illness, but was more crowded, and the seekers were like carp crossing the river.

In the year of the kingdom, the actions can be described as huge, aside from many measures in military affairs, only in the creation of etiquette and political governance, there are also frequent actions. For example, in the early years, although Shi Le had instructed the commander-in-chief of the right marquis Zhang Bin to re-establish the nine products, but because the external troubles had not been eliminated at that time, the border was troublesome, and the people's hearts were not attached, the etiquette system was rough, so it was not implemented.

Recently, this matter has been brought up again, and the level of the Zhongzhou portal has been determined, and each has imposed its own door with virtue and politics, which is much greater than in the past, and has strengthened the attraction of the Jin people in the Central Plains, which is undoubtedly of great benefit to the long-term rule of the Jin.

Cheng Yao was elected as a doctor of Guanglu, and the doctors were selected by universal suffrage to revise the scriptures and placed them in the county, so as to serve as an ethical canon for the people of the world to study and seek reason.

There is also an order to persuade farmers, not only limited to the original county and Jin people, many Hu tribes also have to examine the household registration, because Ding obtained the field, the original private grant, the family passed on the chief, Qu Shuai, etc., are all given seals and gifts, for customization.

Many government decrees, some of which have been promulgated before, have not been thoroughly implemented for various reasons, and are now being implemented more vigorously. Some of them invoked the system of the previous dynasty and then exercised it at that time with slight modifications. At the same time, there is no shortage of groundbreaking initiatives, which are submitted to internal and external public discussion to determine whether it is feasible.

Because of the synchronization of these measures, many Jin people gradually developed a good impression of the court of the Jin Kingdom, although there were many military hardships, but there was not much turmoil in the country.

Cheng Yao wears many hats in this process, and even many affairs are beyond his ability, but in order to live up to the favor of the lord, he also hopes to lay a better foundation for the crown prince, of course, the most important thing is to ensure that he can maintain his own power at the critical moment of the transfer of power, so he has been doing his best recently, and he has been discussing with people all night to ensure that where there is a proposal, he will eliminate the disadvantages and benefit the world.

Although he was so busy, he seemed to have forgotten the humiliation of Empress Liu, but Cheng Yao did not neglect the management of his own forces. Although Cheng Yao also had doubts afterwards, it was very likely that the queen dared to humiliate the minister like this, it was probably due to the Lord's instructions. Although this made Cheng Yao feel a little hazy in his heart, since his own power was not affected, he could only endure it and no longer dwell on it.

However, Cheng Yao also realized the importance of his own strength more clearly, if he didn't have enough strength, even if the lord trusted him no matter how much, he was just a close and thoughtful idle minister, available today, and abandoned tomorrow, and the rise and fall of power depended on the thoughts of others.

What's more, there is also the confidant of Zhongshan Wang Shihu, who led the troops to fight outside, and when he returned to the country in triumph, Cheng Yao thought that it would be a dream to have such a calm situation. Therefore, he also needs to strive to master enough power before the return of the King of Zhongshan.

Therefore, in addition to focusing on government affairs, Cheng Yao is also trying his best to develop military allies. Shi Lang, who was repatriated from Luoyang and sent back to Xiangguo, was undoubtedly a good choice.

Shi Lang was taken down by the King of Zhongshan so easily, and the lord was also angry about this, and even wanted to directly kill Shi Lang, an unusable person. However, in order to avoid giving King Zhongshan more momentum, coupled with Cheng Yao and other courtiers begging for mercy, Shi Lang saved his life.

Although Shi Lang didn't pay much attention to Cheng Yao earlier, but now he and the King of Zhongshan have a life-and-death enmity, and their resentment is by no means shallower than Cheng Yao, and they already have a basis for cooperation between them. In addition, Shi Lang's body was sinful, and he still relied on Cheng Yao's help to save his life, and it was impossible for him to take revenge on King Zhongshan alone. Therefore, the two hit it off, Shi Lang used Cheng Yao to gain a foothold in the forbidden army, and Cheng Yao finally had some military strength that could be dispatched and mastered with the help of Shi Lang.

A similar situation lasted until mid-July, and after nearly ten days of closed-door recuperation, the redness and swelling on Cheng Yao's face gradually subsided, and he regained his upright appearance again. In the past few days, in addition to handling government affairs, he has also been planning some military strategies. Although this is not what he is good at, there is no shortage of people who have contributed to the entry recently, and there is no shortage of such talents around him, coupled with Shi Lang Hongyan, who has gone to Yecheng, to pass on the book, exchanging heartfelt feelings, and gradually determining what to do next.

Previously, the country sent troops, although it seemed that there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and the soldiers were powerful inside and outside, but in fact, it also exposed a lot of hidden dangers. Of these hundreds of thousands of armor soldiers, a considerable part of them are Zhuhu Yicong who can't exert too much control, and the other part is the private army of a group of generals, plus the scattered soldiers and soldiers cobbled together by many counties, there are not too many troops who can really be trusted and used without hidden dangers.

This is also one of the reasons why the Lord is eager to expand the forbidden army, with a stricter system and a more effective successor division, the next step is to gradually eliminate those armies that are in charge of private households, and gradually withdraw the private rights that had to be granted to the generals because of expediency.

Otherwise, the lord can be intimidated by his prestige when he is alive, but once the prince succeeds to the throne, his prestige is no longer there, and the prince himself is stronger in civil rule than military strategy, it is difficult to suppress those old ministers, and it is inevitable that he will fall into a situation of weak cadres and strong branches. The Lord has achieved great things because of this, how can he leave such a situation of being controlled by others for his son.

Cheng Yao has only recently gained insight into the Lord's overall considerations, and he has to feel that the Lord is really far-sighted, first sending the strong ministers to the outside, and then sweeping away all kinds of shortcomings in the country. This kind of means of using things externally, but plotting internally, if a different monarch does it, there may be a danger of internal and external setbacks and total collapse. But the lord is the founder of the country, in the early years of the old Han Dynasty enemy and killed Liu Yao, his prestige has reached its peak, and this shock can be drastically repaired.

And the remnants of the Jin Dynasty survived the Jiang Table, itself is both internal and external, difficult to maintain, although in recent years there has been a slight advance, but it is by no means the enemy of the strong Zhao, to calculate in time, probably the Zhongshan King Baojie document has been on the way home.

Although Cheng Yao hoped that the southerners would be more aggressive, drag the king of Zhongshan to the south for a long time, and give him more time to manage his own forces, he did not have much hope for this. Therefore, for him, time is running out, and he has recently consulted with Shi Lang, hoping to ask the lord to allow the Janissary Guard to leave Yecheng and inspect the county. Of course, it was not to help the south, but to deepen their control over the army, after all, Yecheng was too close to Xiangguo, and they did not dare to be too presumptuous to completely accept the forbidden army entrusted by the lord as a private soldier.

Therefore, when the description improved, Cheng Yao prepared to enter the palace to visit the lord, and asked to send guards to patrol the counties of Hebei to deter the border Yi who were about to move in the north.

But he hadn't left here yet, but there was a report from the door that Shi Lang was visiting, Cheng Yao couldn't help but be surprised when he heard this, and hurriedly asked Shi Lang to be invited into the house. Shi Lang came in such a hurry and didn't notice at all, which made him a little surprised, worried that something might happen to the Yecheng Forbidden Army.

Soon Shi Lang walked into the mansion, his expression was slightly haggard, and after seeing Cheng Yao, his face was full of wry smiles. Cheng Yao didn't guess wrong, there was a mistake in Yecheng, and Shi Lang came back this time because he was driven out of the army again.

The difference is that although this time there is also downfall, but it is better than the previous time, you must know that the previous time his whole family was put into the iron grid prison car cast by Shihu, the king of Zhongshan, and even came out with a lot of effort, and this time the treatment was better, and even took the car specially prepared for him by the other party.

But no matter how good or bad the treatment is, the result has not changed, that is, the little soldiers that he and Cheng Yao have managed to manage with great difficulty in the past two months have been deprived of everything again.

"King Pengcheng joined the army the day before yesterday, and the lord personally gave him an order to take over the forbidden army, and the prince of Fubi sat in Ye. I was detained in the camp overnight, and I was only released yesterday, and the king of Pengcheng said that I would return to the capital and have another appointment......"

When Shi Lang said this, he was not only sad and angry, but also more depressed, the first time he suffered such treatment, he could still be jealous of the King of Zhongshan's arrogance, but in just over a month, he was doomed again, and the blow to him was not small, and he even began to doubt whether his fate was the cause.

"Peng, King Pengcheng is back? He, he...... How could he...... If he returns, what will happen on the front lines...... This, this, no way! There is no ......"

Shi Lang's words hit Cheng Yao like a thunderbolt on the head, and he couldn't even speak, and he couldn't even say a complete sentence.

Seeing Cheng Yao so stunned, Shi Lang's face became even more bitter, not to mention Cheng Yao, even when he learned that Shi Kan went north to take over the forbidden army, he was stunned, and he thought about it all night, and he couldn't figure out why the Lord made such an arrangement.

"Puff me! Piffon dares to play me like this......"

Cheng Yao's reaction was undoubtedly much quicker than Shi Lang's, and he was stunned when he heard the news at first, but he quickly understood Shi Le's intentions. This treacherous thief has never trusted him, and many of his previous actions were to appease him and let him do his best to do things, and after many affairs have been gradually put on track, he directly recruited Pengcheng Wang Shikan into the court, and then completely abandoned him, and never gave him the opportunity to be contaminated in the military!

Shi Lang didn't know who Cheng Ya was scolding, and just about to ask, Cheng Ya had already rolled his eyelids, and he fainted in anger.

After all, he still couldn't go out on this schedule, and there was no need to lie anymore, he really couldn't afford to be sick.

At the same time, the news of the return of Pengcheng Wang Shikan soon reached Xiangguo. At that time, there was no lack of surprise, and after thinking deeply, they also had some insight into Shile's plan. Even if it is difficult to expand his thoughts to what this move means to Shi Hu, the king of Zhongshan, it can be seen that Shi Le is resolutely putting an end to the possibility of his relatives taking charge of the army.

And Shiler's follow-up actions also confirmed the speculation of the time. Previously, Cheng Yao was recuperating at home, and the Chinese envoy could be described as asking three questions a day. However, after Shi Kan took over the forbidden army, Cheng Yao's condition worsened, but Shi Le ignored it and no longer had the same earnest attitude as before.

As a result, Cheng Yao's mansion, which was originally in the city, suddenly deserted in just a few days, except for Xu Guang and other old friends who came to inquire, it was Shi Lang, the unlucky guy who was taken away from the military twice, who temporarily lived in his mansion.

On this day, Yan Mu came to inquire about Cheng Yao accompanied by Qian Feng. Although he has only been seen for more than ten days, Cheng Yao has long since lost his proud appearance of the previous spring breeze, his eye sockets are sunken, his face is bloodless, and he is very excited after seeing Yan Mu, and he took Yan Mu's hand and said astringently: "Today, I know that personnel are difficult, and I don't want to stay in this ugly world for a moment." Master Yan, you have the wonderful law in your body, can you immediately lead me to Xuanxiang and ignore all kinds of hardships in the world! ”

Yan Mu was naturally full of words of comfort, but how could these marginal words resolve the depression in Cheng Yao's heart.

Qian Feng watched Cheng Yao from the sidelines, held back the ridicule in his heart, and said: "Guanglu's invitation, it's really a bit embarrassing. The magic method of giving to others also requires people to have no obstacles in their own hearts. Guanglu's sorrow is dense, and it is really not something that can be resolved by the mystic method. ”

"Are you mocking me?"

When Cheng Yao was in a predicament at the moment, it was difficult to maintain the elegant posture of the corporal Lixian before, and when he heard Qian Feng say this, his face changed, and he reprimanded angrily.

Qian Feng was not ashamed when he heard this, but said with a smile: "The people trapped by Guanglu are nothing more than those who are far away from the lord from the inside, and forced ......by the powerful ministers from the outside."

"You don't have to come to me, although I have a temporary difficulty, but it also stops at the moment, the prince and I are close to each other, time passes, and the trapped self-relief. It's not like you Qian Shiyi's fate, ruined and killed in a foreign country! ”

Cheng Yao snorted coldly again, degrading Qian Feng like this made his depression slightly relieved.

"The fields are out every year, and many people are dying of hunger. Who is trapped? Time waits for no man! Guanglu's argument is already declining, and he is still able to fight bravely in the world, and now he has enjoyed his reputation for a long time, and he has entrusted his family to vain luck. Why is it contrary to the original intention? It's really suffocating. ”

Qian Feng said with a smile again.

When Cheng Yao heard this, he was about to ridicule him again, but after thinking about Qian Feng's words, he seemed to be inspired. The ups and downs of the situation made him realize that Shi Le was only using him, and it was by no means trustworthy, and the previous move to seek his life was also destroyed once, seeing that he could only sit and tie his hands, waiting for Shi Hu to return to the country and take his life, his heart was already full of hope.

But Qian Feng's words made him can't help but look at the past, and ask himself what is the meaning of running around for half a life, why is it that today, what he thinks about is not as good as when he is cold?

"Thank you Shiyi for your warnings and teaching me the difficulty of getting lost."

After a little muttering, Cheng Yao no longer spoke ill of Qian Feng, but got up from the couch and waved at him: "Shiyi is really a master, I hope don't blame me for my rude words." ”