A small wooden barrel, the outside of which has been coated several times with tung oil varnish, is as transparent and shiny as amber. The outside is made of three fine iron hoops to make it strong. The barrel was lush and green, with thick and delicate leaves, so green that it seemed to roll out of the barrel.

It seems that it is still quite thriving and pleasing to the eye. But the problem is, no matter how pleasing to the eye, this barrel is just an ordinary wooden barrel. As for the grass in the barrel, it is even more ordinary grass in the inner courtyard of the palace, which is unremarkable.

What does King Nima Luling mean? Ask the emperor to eat grass? Isn't that the same as scolding the emperor as a brute?

Everyone didn't understand why King Luling dared to risk such a big disapproval in the world!

Wu Zetian ignored Wu Sansi, and said with a pale face: "Xian'er, why do you want to offer this thing to me, you have to explain it clearly today!" To put it bluntly, you are still a good son of mine. Otherwise...... Hmph, weigh it yourself! ”

"Yes!"

It's a blessing or a curse, and it's a disaster that can't be avoided. Li Xian was also out of the way, and said loudly: "Don't dare to deceive the saint, in fact, the gift that Erchen originally prepared for you has been robbed." ”

Wu Sansi snorted coldly and interrupted: "Robbed? Who knows if it was really robbed, or if it was your excuse? Fear...... You have no filial piety at all, and you forgot to prepare any birthday gifts for Your Majesty, right?! ”

The reason why Li Xian didn't dare to tell the truth at the beginning was because he was afraid of this accusation. In addition, even if Wu Zetian has no doubts about his words, I am afraid that he will think that he is very incompetent, which is still very inappropriate.

Of course, by now, he was not afraid at all!

Li Xian smiled slightly and said, "King Liang, please be calm and listen to me finish speaking." Originally, after Xiao Wang's congratulatory gift was snatched away, I could take out another treasure to make a birthday gift for the saint. However, I thought about it and changed my mind again. ”

Di Renjie's eyes flashed, and he said, "Oh? But I don't know why King Luling changed his mind? ”

"Because Xiao Wang thinks that the saint is rich all over the world, and there are many rare treasures. No matter what treasure I give to the saint, it is nothing to her old man. ”

Wu Sansi sneered: "Your Majesty lacks strange treasures, and whether you send them or not is completely different things!" Thousands of miles to send goose feathers, the courtesy is light and affectionate, do you understand this truth? ”

"Sending goose feathers thousands of miles is certainly a light courtesy. However, does sending gold for thousands of miles seem more affectionate? ”

As he spoke, Li Xian suddenly knelt on the ground and said to Wu Zetian: "Erchen thinks that this gift in front of him is what the saint needs most. ”

Wu Zetian said: "Oh? How do you say that? ”

"It was precisely because of the robbery of the congratulatory gift of my son-in-law that I felt in my heart and prepared such a gift. To tell you the truth, these three things are all things of the palace, and the sons are just borrowing flowers to offer Buddha. Saints, look! ”

Li Xianfu stood up again, pointed to the wooden barrel, and said: "The grass in this wooden barrel has a common name among the people, called "Wan Nianqing". In addition, the soil in this bucket can represent the country. Erchen thinks that these two things together can express the meaning of "Sheji for ten thousand years". ”

There is nothing wrong with this, "splitting the soil" is the most obvious sign of feudal society. In the ritual of "splitting the soil and dividing the grass", the white thatched soil is given to the person who is sealed, symbolizing the grant of land and power.

Wu Sansi picked a bone in the egg, snorted and said: "Soil and grass are not worth anything at all, don't think that if you take a good name, you just want to get by!" ”

"Of course, it's not just a nice name." Li Xianzhen said: "Although the soil and grass are not valuable, aren't there still wooden barrels and iron hoops? ”

Are barrels and hoops worth a lot? Of course it's not worth much. However, they still seem to be worth a little bit compared to the soil.

This can make Wu Sansi think for a while, how to refute?

Flutter~

Finally, someone couldn't help it and laughed out loud, and even Wu Zetian was stunned for a while.

Wu Sansi was speechless for a while, and then he was furious, and said, "You are completely strong-worded!" ”

Li Xian said unhurriedly: "Of course, this is a strong word. King Liang, don't worry, Xiao Wang just wants to play a joke with you. Anyway, we're cousins too, can't we even make a joke? ”

Then, he started the topic, saying: "The sage looks at it again, this wooden barrel, and the retainers obtained it is the meaning of "unifying the country". ”

Wu Zetian said noncommittally: "It's not unusual. ”

Li Xian was not discouraged and continued: "There are also these three iron hoops. The iron hoop surrounds the barrel, isn't it a "circumferential barrel"? This, combined with the barrels and even the soil and grass, is the Great Zhou Tongjiang...... Ten thousand years! ”

The last sentence, Li Xian shouted it with all his might, and when it came to "ten thousand years", his voice was already deformed and slightly hoarse!

"Good!" Before the ministers could react, someone couldn't wait to shout.

People follow the prestige, and the person is Wu Zetian!

To be honest, Li Xian's words really spoke to Her Majesty's heart.

As a woman, she ascended the throne of God and founded the Great Zhou Dynasty. If the throne is passed on to Wu Sansi, he can keep the name of "Da Zhou", but how can the nephew have a reason to sacrifice his aunt in the Taimiao?

If it is passed on to Li Xian, Li Xian can sacrifice her, but is this Great Zhou Dynasty...... Hehe, I'm afraid that with his death, he will be replaced by Datang. How does this make her willing?

Therefore, on the question of who to inherit his throne, Wu Zetian has been hesitant, and in the end, the lesser of the two powers, temporarily chose Li Xian.

Now Li Xian shouted in public that he wanted to make "the Great Zhou Dynasty last forever", but it really made her feel sick, and she couldn't help but shout.

As for the ministers? So what else is there to say? Follow Her Majesty's baton.

People knelt on the ground and said: "The gift of King Luling is both filial piety and righteousness, and Weichen congratulates Your Majesty!" ”

Wu Zetian stood up happily, raised a glass of wine, and said, "Come, let's drink this cup together!" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Drink again!"

"Yes!"

"One more glass!"

"Whoa!"

To put it simply, Wu Zetian drank three cups in a row, and his happiness was beyond words.

Wu Sansi saw that Li looked so colorful, and his eyes were red.

He said again: "Aunt, nephew thinks that this explanation of King Luling seems to be a little inappropriate. ”

Wu Zetian's face sank slightly, and he said, "Huh? What's wrong? ”

"Since King Luling wants Da Zhou to rule the country, isn't it over with an iron hoop bucket? Why the three paths? This iron hoop can be barely interpreted as the Great Zhou, what do you say about the three iron hoops? Three weeks? ”

You have a lot of things to do, and the barrels are generally held by three iron hoops, how can the king of Luling think about it so carefully?

Wu Zetian scolded in his heart and said: "The so-called meaning, of course, cannot be exhaustive. King Liang's words were too nitpicky. ”

"But ......"

"Huh? Retire! ”

"Yes!"

Wu Sansi saw that Wu Ze was innocently angry, and reluctantly retreated.

However, just when everyone thought that the matter was over, suddenly, King Luling coughed lightly and said, "Enlightened Sage, in fact, what you just said was wrong. ”

Wu Zetian was surprised: "Huh? Am I wrong? ”

Not only Wu Zetian was surprised, but the ministers were even more surprised! Assassinating the king in front of him, King Luling's guts are too fat, right? How dare he do that? Does he still want to inherit the throne?

Almost everyone held their breath and watched how Li Xian explained.

I only heard him say confidently: "Yes, Erchen thinks that the words of King Liang are right, the so-called three iron hoops actually have a meaning." Belch...... Of course, not three weeks, but three people. ”

"Three?" Wu Zetian's heart was shocked, and he vaguely seemed to realize something, and said in a slightly trembling voice: "But I don't know which three people?" ”

"Of course, the three people closest to the saint: Erchen, the crown prince Wudan (Li Dan), and Liang Wang Wu Sansi!"

"Good, good, good!"

This time, Wu Zetian didn't just shout "good", but shouted three times in a row!

She is not at ease about the things behind her, mainly because of two things: first, whether the Great Zhou Dynasty can continue to exist. The second is whether the Li and Wu families can get along in harmony after their deaths.

Especially the second thing, when I was there, the heads on both sides were already beaten into pigs' heads, and after I died, the situation was probably not optimistic!

Now it's okay, Li Xian took the initiative to say that he wanted to live in harmony with Wu Sansi and jointly protect the thousands of miles of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Thinking about it carefully, Li Xian and Wu Sansi joked just now, saying that "iron hoops and wooden barrels are much more valuable than soil and grass", but it has a deep meaning!

Up to now, the more Wu Zetian looked at Li Xian, the happier he became, and said, "Xian'er, this birthday gift you gave me is very good, and I like it very much." But...... There are so many meanings of this congratulatory gift, I wonder if there is an official name? ”

"Absolutely." Li Xiandao: "The name of this congratulatory gift is called Three Hoops Zhou Wannian!" ”

Wu Zetian patted a few cases lightly and said, "Okay, what a three-hoop Zhou Wannian!" Wan'er, the purpose! ”

Wu Sansi was deeply afraid that Wu Zetian was going to make Li Xian the crown prince at that time, and said, "Auntie, please think twice!" ”

"Uh......" Wu Zetian groaned for a while, deciding to give his nephew this face for the time being. Besides, the establishment of the crown prince is such a big event, and today's occasion is really not very suitable.

She changed her words and said: "Piercing my will, Li Chongrun, the concubine of the King of Luling, will be the king of Shao, and the concubine Li Bao'er will be the princess of Anle." In addition, Li Chongfu, the concubine of the king of Luling, is the king of Tangchang County, Li Chongjun is the king of Yixing County, and Li Chongmao is the king of Beihai County......"

It turned out that when Li Xian was the crown prince, Li Chongrun was named the emperor's grandson. After he became the emperor, Li Chongrun became the crown prince. As for the other children, they were either unborn or too young to be canonized.

Later, Li Xian was demoted to the king of Luling, and Li Chongrun was also demoted to a concubine, exactly like the other brothers and sisters.

It's good now, Wu Zetian is also really generous, not only named Li Chongrun the king of Shao, but also named Li Xian's other sons as the king of the county.

Not only that, but she also named Li Bao'er, Li Xian's other daughters as county lords.

Okay, Yicheng County Lord, Ding'an County Lord, Changning County Lord, Yongshou County Lord, Yongtai County Lord, Cheng'an County Lord, Jincheng County Lord...... Li Xian really has a lot of daughters, and Wu Zetian simply came to give it to the county lord.

The ministers who were loyal to Li Xian were happy in their hearts, Li Xian's sons-in-law were all princes of the Eight Classics, and Wu Sansi's sons-in-law were still the kings of the county. Who is more pleasing to Her Majesty, do you need to ask?

Some people even thought that Wu Ze could take care of all opportunities every day, and he could remember Li Xian's many daughters clearly, which shows that Li Xian is indeed in the emperor's heart!

Don't think about it, Li Xian's position as the crown prince is stable from now on! The revival of Datang is expected!

"Congratulations to Your Majesty, mother and son for harmony and shared family. The Great Monday is unified, and the country is eternal! "The ministers say hello again!

……

……

It was originally an ordinary reception banquet, but Li Xian's position as the crown prince was basically established, and the officials who supported the Li faction were excited.

Of course, Wu Zetian is still alive, and it is always difficult to show too much affection for Li Xian now, so as not to cause extraneous branches.

Therefore, in the next banquet, everyone was lukewarm to Li Xian, but they were very enthusiastic about Cui Geng, the great hero of this time, and frequently toasted.

Until the banquet was over, Di Renjie pulled Cui Geng's sleeve and didn't let him go, and said, "Cui Zhuang, don't be in a hurry to accompany the beautiful wife and concubine at home." The old man has a few new bottles of good wine, why don't you go back to my house and drink a few glasses?"

"Those who are determined to do so, do not dare to ask for it."

sanjiangge