The Queen Mother warmly invited Li Hong to dine at Yongle Palace.

This meal opened Li Hong's eyes, and he knew for the first time what luxury was. One dish after another, one after another female music, made Li Hong's eyes dizzy, as if he was in a dream.

When the Son of Heaven took him out of Yongle Palace, twilight had come. The two returned to the North Palace and chatted for a while. Both of them are in a good mood, and they are talking about each other, and they are angry. At this time, Li Hong had completely let go, completely unrestrained, he felt that although the Son of Heaven did not look smiling, he was actually very good, he spoke very funny, and he was kind to others.

The Son of Heaven introduced his masterpiece of play to Li Hong, one is the market in the palace, and the other is a donkey cart, he said: "I am busy with the New Year these days, and I don't have time to take you to play." After the New Year, I will take you to play. ”

Then the Son of Heaven and Li Hong talked about the border fortress, and the two monarchs and ministers talked for a long time about the continuous wars on the border and the frequent invasion of the Hu people, and the two talked about the Xianbei people, Karasuma people, Huns and Qiang people, talked about the suffering of the border people, talked about the border policy of the Han Dynasty, and talked about the great achievements of the ancestors of the Han Dynasty against the Hu people.

The Son of Heaven said: "I have a wish, that is, I hope that the army of the Han Dynasty can defeat the Hu people, conquer the Hu people, lay a great territory for our Han Dynasty, and make great contributions to our Han Dynasty, so that I am a superior king in history, and I can not only surpass the achievements of Emperor Wu of the previous dynasty, but also go down in history and be immortal." ”

He straightened his thin body, looked at Li Hong excitedly, and said in an impassioned voice: "I want to completely defeat the Qiang people, end the disaster of the Qiang people for decades, and then go on an expedition to the Western Regions and resubmit the countries of the Western Regions; I also want to go north to defeat the Xianbei people, annex the blue-eyed Ding Ling tribe, and then occupy the entire steppe, extending the territory of my Han all the way to the depths of the snowy fields in the north; I still want to attack the Buyeo Kingdom, although they have surrendered, but this is not enough, I want to conquer them and turn them into the people of my Han Dynasty once and for all. ”

"People, can you realize these wishes of mine?" The Son of Heaven waved his hand and asked, "Can my wish be fulfilled in my lifetime?" ”

Li Hong's heart was surging when he heard this, he turned over and knelt down, and said confidently: "Your Majesty, the minister firmly believes that Your Majesty will be able to do it, and the minister is willing to fight the enemy bravely to realize His Majesty's wishes." ”

"Well, well, I've said the same thing to many people over the years, but none of them supported me, and they all saw me as an idiot. You are the only one who agrees with my idea and says that I can do all this. The Son of Heaven raised his hand and said, "Okay, what a brave leopard, in the future, the important task of conquering the Hu people and expanding the territory of the Han Dynasty will be handed over to you." ”

The Son of Heaven immediately looked up to the sky and sighed softly: "People, only the people understand my thoughts. ”

He stretched out his hand to help Li Hong up, and said with a smile: "Zimin, what do you think of Xiao Donghou's achievements in the future?" ”

Li Hong's boiling emotions cooled down in an instant. Your Majesty is going to talk to you about the emperor after all. Although there is a difference between being loyal to Your Majesty and being loyal to the heir of the imperial lineage, for Your Majesty, it is likely to be the same. Li Hong knew that he could not hesitate and had to answer immediately, otherwise, His Majesty would suspect that he had other ideas. At this moment, the monarch and the minister are in harmony with each other, and they are like-minded, so what reason is there to destroy this harmony and happiness?

"The minister thinks that the little prince is smart and witty, humble and docile, and he must be a bright monarch in the future."

The Son of Heaven suddenly looked happy, he grabbed Li Hong, and asked happily, "Do the people really think so?" ”

"Loyal to Your Majesty, there is no second heart." Li Hong knelt on the ground again, arched his hand and said, "The heart of the minister can only be learned from the sky, if you violate the oath, the heavens and the earth will be destroyed." ”

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

Li Wei and Zhao Yun and their gang were anxious when they saw that Li Hong had not returned for a long time.

In the middle of the night, Li Hong, accompanied by Xiao Huangmen Jian Shuo, was escorted by Wei Duan, the brigade commander, with a hundred cavalry, and returned to Zhangyuetai. Everyone flocked to greet them and asked long and short questions.

Li Hong said with a smile: "Your Majesty talked to me for a long time, and left me for dinner, so I came back late, which made everyone worried." ”

"My lord, don't you just worry, Arc Ding and Qi Shen are going to bring people into the palace." Zhao Yun smiled, "They said that you have already killed the emperor." ”

Li Hong patted Arc Ding and Qi Shen's shoulders with emotion, and said, "I'm fine." Thank you. ”

When Arc Ding and Qi Shen saw Li Hong come back safely, their hearts finally fell to the ground, and the two of them laughed, their joy and excitement overflowing.

"Have you seen the Queen Mother?" Li Wei asked anxiously, "What did Your Majesty talk about with you?" ”

"I met the Queen Mother, I stayed in Yongle Palace for a full day, and I also met Princess Changping and the little prince. Today I have seen a long time, eating a meal in the palace is so extravagant and luxurious, you can't imagine it. ”

"Sir, tell us about it." Jiang Wu said enviously, "How do the emperor and the queen mother eat?" ”

"Don't talk about that yet." Li Wei stopped, "My lord, what did Your Majesty talk about with you?" What is the purpose of His Majesty's trip to Beijing? Are we still in danger? How long will Your Majesty confine us? ”

"There's no danger anymore." Li Hong said, "Your Majesty summoned me to Beijing entirely for the sake of the emperor's affairs, and he has already asked me." ”

"What did you say?"

"I promised." Li Hong said, "At that time, I couldn't help but agree. ”

Li Wei gasped. Zhao Yun, Jiang Wu, and Pang De looked at each other.

Arc Ding and Qi Shen don't care much about this matter, in their thoughts, whoever has the best fist is the boss, and there is no difference between the young and the old. They are more concerned about Li Hong's life.

"My lord, when are we leaving Luoyang?" Abandonment asked, "Do you want to leave right away?" ”

"It's going to be a long time." Li Hong said, "In February, the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother will go back to their hometown in Hejian Kingdom in Jizhou to worship their ancestors, and the Son of Heaven will let us accompany us. It is estimated that we will not be able to return to Xiliang until at least April. ”

"Then we can have a good time in Luoyang." Arc Ding said, "My lord, the emperor said, when can we move around at will?" ”

Li Hong shook his head. Li Wei said solemnly: "Your Majesty will never let us walk around in Luoyang at will. ”

"Why?" Arc Ding asked strangely, "Then we didn't run to Luoyang in vain and didn't see anything." ”

"In order to ensure that the Lord's mind does not change, the most reliable way is to not let the Adult contact any powerful people in Luoyang." Li Wei said, "From this moment on, the adults are really imprisoned. ”

"My lord, will you enter the palace tomorrow?" Pound asked.

"Tomorrow morning, I will go to the court to report on my work and accept the questioning of the Son of Heaven and the ministers."

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

The twenty-fifth day of the month is called the "chaotic year", because after sending away the god Vesta, it is not until Chinese New Year's Eve that the god Vega is welcomed back, so during this period of time, there is no god in the world, there is no taboo, and the people mostly set this day as the day of marriage.

Courts.

There are a lot of contents in today's court discussion, first of all, the general Li Hong reported to his work, and then Liu Yan told His Majesty the arrangements for activities such as sacrificial celebrations before and after the New Year, Zongzheng Liu Yu reported on the operation of the Son of Heaven to return to Jizhou, and the general reported on the expansion of the Northern Army and the recruitment of Wang Fen, the assassin of Jizhou, etc., about 156 items of all sizes.

The first time Li Hong stood in the huge Jiade Hall, the first time he participated in the court meeting, the first time he saw all the three princes and nine kings, and the first time he felt the power and glory, he was both excited and nervous.

Li Hong stumbled and began to speak. The hundred officials in the main hall stood quietly, solemn and solemn, only Li Hong's monotonous and stiff voice echoed around the hall. After Li Hong spoke for a while, his nervous mood gradually calmed down, and his tone began to become smoother and smoother, and his voice became louder and louder.

Li Hong talked in detail about the situation of Xiliang and the gains and losses of the Battle of Yicheng, and then changed his words and began to denounce the corrupt officials in Xiliang, counting the serious consequences caused by the corruption of Xiliang officials.

"Your Majesty, please play all the corrupt officials involved in the corruption of Xiliang, it is strictly forbidden to atone for their sins with money, and they will all be beheaded to show the public, so as to appease the 600,000 people of Xiliang, so that this move can stop the resurgence of Xiliang's troubles." Li Hong said loudly, "If corrupt officials are not killed, there will never be a period of peace in the Xiliang Rebellion." ”

One stone stirs up a thousand waves.

Zongzheng Liu Yu, who was standing near him, couldn't wait to rush up and kick him. This idiot, when he arrived in Luoyang and in the court, he was still so rampant, he didn't know what was dead or alive. He was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, and he couldn't help it in a hurry.

Above the court, for a while, the voice of "the ministers have the book to play the ......" rose to the sky, and the middle servants, the three dukes, the nine secretaries, and the big and small bureaucrats rushed to speak.

The Son of Heaven smiled coldly, stood up suddenly, glared at him, and roared in a low voice: "Whoever makes any more noise, pull it out and cut it!" ”

Suddenly, the court fell silent.

"Do you Aiqing want to impeach Li Aiqing? I know, tomorrow, tomorrow's court meeting will have one content, impeachment of Li Aiqing, how about it? There are a lot of things today, so don't talk about it, you Aiqing will finish the matter as soon as possible, and everyone should go home early to prepare for the New Year. ”

The Son of Heaven immediately put on a smiling face, waved at Li Hong, and said, "Li Aiqing is right, for the sake of the Han Dynasty, I really want to kill these people. He pointed at Situ Cui Lie and said, "Cui Aiqing, this matter is up to you." ”

As soon as the Son of Heaven spoke, there were suddenly waves in the court.

The Son of Heaven reversed himself and accepted the money for his sins, and he wanted to repent and arrest people and kill them, what kind of emperor is this? The ministers were so angry that they didn't speak well. Li Hong really didn't know whether he was alive or dead, he was the enemy of everyone at this time, he was still rushing to sing the opposite, repeatedly asking the emperor to kill the corrupt officials, kill him immediately, and the ministers couldn't wait to surround him and beat him to death. Li Hong is probably a dead pig who is not afraid of boiling water, no one is afraid, he even quarreled with the thin Zhongchang servant Zhang Rang, looking at Li Hong's menacing appearance, as if he was going to beat Zhang Rang to death at any time. Taiwei Zhang Wen and Zongzheng Liu Yu hurriedly pulled the two apart.

Liu Yu complained in a low voice: "Zimin, what are you doing here? Do you think you can do whatever you want with the support of the emperor? If you continue to mess around like this, do you want to go back to Xiliang? ”

Li Hong saw Liu Yu's angry appearance, and he was very grateful, he leaned over to Liu Yu's ear and said, "My lord, this is all ordered by His Majesty, do I dare not do it?" ”

Liu Yu was stunned. Li Hong turned around and took two steps, raised his hand and shouted: "Your Majesty, corrupt officials will not be killed, there will be no day of stability in Xiliang!"

Taiwei Zhang Wen leaned down and knelt down, and tried his best to admonish: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is a golden mouth, how can you go back on your word and invite the shame of the people of the world in vain......

The Son of Heaven interrupted him unceremoniously and said, "Lord Taiwei, what do you say?" ”

Zhang Wen hurriedly played: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that this matter is complicated, and it is difficult to deal with it safely for a while, not to mention that this matter is not the content of today's court discussion, so let's discuss it later?" ”

"I don't think it's going to be discussed. You're right, I can't go back on my word and lose my trust to the people of the world. In this way, let them pay double the money for their sins according to the size of their personal guilt, and hand it over immediately, otherwise, after the fifteenth day of the first month, they will all be beheaded. ”

There was an uproar. In the end, His Majesty is still asking for money. The ministers immediately understood, no wonder His Majesty suddenly agreed to go home at his own expense a few days ago, it turned out that he had already made arrangements. He sang and harmonized with Li Hong, and played the ministers once. Everyone was angry in their hearts, and their faces were pale, and they couldn't wait to eat Li Hong's meat. I can't hate the emperor, so I have to hate Li Hong.

The general He in and out of the list praised: "Your Majesty is wise, this method really kills multiple birds with one stone, not only plugs the mouths of the world, but also severely punishes corrupt officials, and can also warn other corrupt officials and corrupt officials, Your Majesty is clever." ”

Tianzi Pi snorted without smiling and said, "I am comfortable to hear the general's words. Jing Zhaoyin and the Beidi Prefecture both came to play the chapter, saying that the Xianbei people were preparing to move on the border and might invade the border, so I planned to recruit Li Aiqing's army to the west and settle in Chang'an, thinking that it would be supportive, what did the general think? ”

He Jin's face froze, and then he said loudly with a smile on his face: "Your Majesty is far-sighted, and you have the gist of the art of war, Your Majesty is wise." ”

The Son of Heaven smiled slightly, a hint of mockery flashing across his face.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

Jizhou Thorn Shi Wang Fen's subordinates, the chief bookkeeper Xu You hurried to Gaotang City in Qingzhou Plain County.

Gaotang is a very famous place, and it was the famous capital of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Xu Youbiao is a native of Nanyang, Jingzhou, and a son of the Xu clan in Nanyang. He was ordered by Wang Fen to invite Hua Xin (read xin) and Tao Gao to Jizhou to conspire with him. Hua Xin Zi Fish, Tao Gao Zi Qiu Hong, are all plain celebrities.

Hua Xin is steady, does not like to be in the limelight, is very able to control the golden mean, and is very popular. Huaxin and Guan Ning and Bingyuan in the same county are all taught by Yingchuan Chen Yu, and the three of them are called "One Dragon", Huawei is the dragon's head, Bing is the dragon's belly, and Guan is the dragon's tail. However, one day, Guan Ning broke off relations with Hua Xin. Because the two of them were studying together on this day, a big official passed by the door in a luxury car, Guan Ning didn't even look at it, and Hua Xin was not only stunned, but also amazed. Guan Ning immediately used a knife to cut the straw mat they were sitting on from the middle, he thought that Hua Xin was a person who coveted glory and wealth, and was not worthy of being his friend.

Xu You, Tao Gao, and Hua Xin are all classmates and friends, and they have been familiar with each other for a long time. After listening to Xu You's introduction, Tao Gao readily agreed. They went to find Hua Xin together. Hua Xin categorically vetoed it without hesitation.

Hua Xin said: "This matter of abolishing the Son of Heaven, how can we be a little person like us to participate, haven't you seen the fate of Yi Yin and Huo Guang?" Lord Wang Fen was tempted by Master Xiangkai, and he was so bold that he dared to do such a thing. You see, he is going to die this time, and he will be punished by the Nine Clans. In my opinion, Brother Qiu Hong should not go, and Ziyuan had better leave Jizhou Mansion and go back to Nanyang to avoid trouble. ”

The two laughed at Huaxin and had no courage, so they immediately set off for Jizhou.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

After the general went down, he did not return to the house, but went directly to the house of Sima He Hao of the general's mansion.

He Hao welcomed the general He Jin into the study. In the study, Yuan Kui, the head of the Yuan family's gate valve, was chatting with his nephew Yuan Shao.

The general and Yuan Kui exchanged pleasantries, saluted each other and sat down.

"Sit down, sit, sit." He Jin beckoned his staff to sit around him.

"Li Hong is young, very young." He Jin said, "The original words are not wrong, this person is indeed an idiot except for fighting. He then told him about what happened in the court today.

"Your Majesty's words are not wrong, Your Majesty has succeeded in wooing this brute who doesn't understand anything. Now Your Majesty's determination to abolish the throne is beyond your imagination. He had already decided to move Li Hong's 70,000-strong army to Chang'an and station. ”

"Oh." Yuan Kui said in surprise, "Your Majesty can agree to the expansion of the Northern Army?" ”

"Disagree. He said that there was no money in the treasury and that it was enough to keep the Northern Army of 30,000 men. He Jin said, "Lord Taiwei, Lord Situ and Yang Biao, and Lu Zhi have read too much, and in this case, they still want to persuade His Majesty to turn back in time to avoid a bloody massacre in Luoyang." It's pedantic, but the old man is still sober, and he sees that this matter is irreparable, and he has to fight to the death. ”

Yuan Kui said with a smile: "The general doesn't have to worry, if it really comes to life and death, the gate lord clan can still weigh the pros and cons and support the general." ”

"It is understandable that the bureaucrats of the clan do not want to see eunuchs usurping their power or their relatives in charge, so they want to do their best to maintain this balance." Yuan Shao said, "But Your Majesty himself does not want to be swayed by others, he wants to change the status quo, so their persuasion and efforts are ultimately in vain." ”

He Hao said: "Kill the traitorous eunuch, the general can completely control Luoyang and grasp the authority of the country, at that time, Your Majesty will come back from Jizhou, and you can't think of establishing a prince." It's just that this seems to be against His Majesty's wishes, and he seems to be more reluctant to see the general than the traitorous eunuch. ”

"How can everything go well?" He Jin smiled and nodded, "We can't underestimate the power of the traitors, let alone despise the clan of the gate lords in Beijing, or that sentence, I hope that the boss can convince the gate lords in Beijing, including Lord Sikong Xu, so as not to implicate too much and hurt the vitality of my big man." ”

"I tried my best to convince them." Yuan Kui said with a smile, "I have already told me about the general's divisive plan just now, and I hope they will look a little farther ahead, so that they can also avoid the disaster on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month." ”

"Especially Lord Xu Xiangxu, the annoying old man has to make a few more trips." He Jin admonished.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝