Aggrieved Fish Sprite

Of course Meng Qi had no interest in being emperor.

He knew that what the prince really wanted to ask was not this, but to persuade him to stay.

——Whether you are the emperor or assisting someone, you have to stay.

"If you can't find a virtuous minister, you've got the idea on me. You're quite courageous!" Meng Qi narrowed his eyes, looking displeased.

The prince was not afraid, and said directly: "The national teacher has been an official in the Chu Dynasty for more than [-] years. He has witnessed and created a peaceful and prosperous world with his own eyes..."

"Slow!" Meng Qi raised his hand to stop it, and said casually, "The prince thinks highly of me. I'm just a national teacher with mediocre talents and no outstanding achievements. I just practiced martial arts well."

"In the memorials left over from the Chu Dynasty and the daily records of Emperor Chu Yuan, the record about the national teacher is not brilliant at first glance. He is just a capable minister. I don't know if this is the result of deletions or revisions, or the national teacher is good at hiding himself. The prince paused, and then said, "I have met many people, even if I have never met, I can guess their thoughts based on their habits and preferences, but I can't see through the national teacher."

Meng Qi, the national teacher of the Chu Dynasty, was very mysterious.

This kind of mystery is not only because he seldom takes the lead in showing up, but also because he has no relatives and clansmen, and even his native place is vague, and some records are even inconsistent.

People always have distinctive characteristics because of their hometown and the place where they have lived for a long time.

For example, accent, food taste preference, folk customs and habits of a certain place, etc.

But Meng Qi didn't have any, and his contemporaries couldn't tell where he was from, so they simply remembered him as a man with lofty ideals who wandered all over the world. name.

If you don't read history carefully, it is easy to ignore him.But if you are interested in him, you will find something strange about this person. The monks and Taoists who have always been valued by the emperor can't help but want to get some benefits from the emperor.Such as being awarded the title of a certain real person such and such a master, gold and silver artifacts and jade coins, monk robes inlaid with gold threads and paved with pearls and jade, and even boys and girls, giving mansions to the farm.

The things that Emperor Chu and Yuan bestowed on the courtiers and clan, and when they were rewarded, can be found in the documents and daily records.

The share that Meng Qi got was quite satisfactory, it can be said to be inconspicuous, mixed among a bunch of rewards, and the weight was not much.In addition to silk, brocade, and tribute melons and fruits, ice cubes in summer, charcoal in winter, eight-treasure porridge in the palace... are the basic rewards for near and important ministers during the New Year.

The other courtiers are different, they can fully see the person's preferences,

Those who love to drink have the Twelve Altars of Royal Wine, and those who are afraid of heat get more ice gifts. In addition, there are also gifts such as famous swords, ancient books, and even Hetao mutton and Western Region spices.

You can tell the health of the courtiers from the medicinal materials, and you can judge the condition of the relatives in the courtier's family from the number of longevity locks, children's playthings, and palace flower hairpins.

The prince should not only learn to govern the country, but also learn to be a king.

When rewarding courtiers, it is the basic knowledge to do what they like, and to be considerate and caring appropriately.

However, from the king's point of view, Meng Qi seems weird and troublesome. He has not been sick for more than 30 years, has not married a wife or had children for more than 30 years, does not like drinking, and has no interest in magic weapons.

For some items, Emperor Chu Yuan only rewarded them once, and then they never appeared again. Obviously, this national teacher did not like them.

Such desires and desires, if not for greater ambition, would be a god among gods.

The prince of the Qi Dynasty took a deep look at Meng Qi, and almost suspected that Meng Qi was transformed from a mountain spirit and came into being to support the great cause of the Chu Dynasty.When Chu Chao was exhausted, he disappeared without a trace.

"I have read all the documents of the Chu Dynasty, especially those far-reaching strategies for governing the country. I am ashamed to say that because I don't know the sufferings of the people, many of them have only a half-knowledge. I don’t know if the national teacher is willing to teach my Sixth Emperor’s younger brother about the transcribed documents... If not, I can close my eyes with peace of mind if someone who is so talented and dedicated to governing the country and the people ascends to the throne.”

Hearing this, Meng Qi couldn't help frowning.

To be honest, that sixth prince is really not that good.

Extreme temperament, aggressive, and there is a tendency to be serious with others.

It's not a big problem if someone else has such a personality, but if the emperor suddenly loses his temper one day and insists on fighting with his courtiers, it will definitely lead to a tragedy.

Mo Li finally escaped from the siege of the civet cats, he let out a sigh of relief, and saw that Meng Qi was silent, he took the initiative to break the siege and said: "To be honest, we met the sixth prince once in Yongzhou."

Mo Li didn't say the rest, and the prince suddenly showed disappointment.

"You don't care about the Qi Dynasty?" Mo Li handed the prescription to Yu Lan and asked without raising his head.

The prince said weakly: "After I die, when my father is old... or before he is old, the world will change. Sooner or later, the Lu surname will not be able to keep the throne. What do I care about?"

That's not necessarily the case, Mo Li thought to himself.

The prince didn't notice Mo Li's expression, he was in a state of exhaustion, half closed his eyes and said: "Since the national teacher didn't come here for the jade seal, he is here to listen to me so many words patiently, and ask a friend to prescribe a prescription for me. I venture to guess that the national teacher did not come here to assassinate the emperor or capture rebellion... Is there any problem with the people from the rivers and lakes colluded with by the second emperor?"

"That's a lunatic." Mo Li said briefly.

The crown prince didn't ask any further questions, and motioned to Yu Lan, "Take the box under my pillow."

"Your Highness, this..."

"It's useless to keep it."

Yu Lan had no choice but to take out a small rosewood box.

This box is much more exquisite than the one containing the jade seal, it is only the size of a fist, and at first glance it looks like a whole piece of wood, without locks or gaps.

The crown prince took the box, and he didn't know where to press the mechanism. There were wooden strips protruding from the surface of the wooden box. After turning it in a certain direction a few times, the box gradually turned into a bowl container made of wooden strips.

Inside the container is a jade tablet, translucent, with a few flocculent reddish-brown impurities inside, but it just forms the outline of a koi carp.

Meng Qi didn't care at first, but now his eyes are attracted by the jade plaque.

"This is the order talisman, and there are two land deeds, both of which are shops on Chang'an Street in Taijing. Below is a simple map of the imperial city." The prince pushed the box in front of Mo Li, "It will be used as the consultation fee."

This obviously exceeded the price of the consultation fee, Mo Li refused, and only took away the simple map of the imperial city.

"The talisman could have ordered Wei Pingbo to raise a private soldier for me in Gyeonggi. Once I die, those court nobles and ministers will definitely not recognize the person holding the license. However, it is also valuable in itself. It's quite exquisite, worth a hundred and ten taels of silver. As for the land deed, if possible, pass it on to my sixth brother. Let him choose the same for the jade seal and the treasure."

"Why don't the prince deliver it himself?"

"I'm afraid he doesn't want anything but a knife." The prince was extremely sad.

Mo Li asked suspiciously: "You don't even want to be a prince? As a prince, no matter if you want to assassinate or plot treason, don't you have more opportunities?"

"He knows what kind of life I live." The prince smiled wryly, panting, "The power in my hands is not worth mentioning, even so, I did my best."

Yu Lan, the court lady next to her, said in a low voice: "Your Majesty is very strict with His Majesty. What His Majesty eats, what he says, and who he sees every day will be reported to Wanhe Hall. Mr. Chen was originally His Majesty's." People. If His Majesty is dissatisfied, we palace people will be punished, and the Hanlin who lectures for His Highness will have to lecture on filial piety for three days, and have to repeat what Mr. said. I said it. The courtiers of the outer court and the gentlemen of the Hanlin still applaud, thinking that His Highness will be taught to be bad by the inner eunuchs. It is best to beat the palace people so that they are afraid and dare not say a word."

Speaking of which, Yu Lan couldn't help but resentful, and said angrily, "I don't understand, if you want to talk about the treacherous eunuchs of the Chen Dynasty, aren't the most similar and most suitable ones in our palace are the ones around His Majesty and the chief managers of the Supervisor of Rituals? Everyone in the Eastern Palace believes in His Highness. Why did you ever instigate His Highness to be bad? Why did the gentlemen seem to have a deep hatred with us lowly Palace people? Then they wrote the memorial and kowtowed in the Wanhe Hall until their foreheads bleed until His Majesty ordered the servants around His Highness to be hanged. , is this a scholar?"

Mo Li was speechless for a while, Meng Qi pondered and said, "That's right, this is a scholar."

Since the Chen Dynasty, the civil officials of the outer court and the eunuchs of the inner court competed for power, and the seal of the supervisor of ceremonies was even called the inner minister.

The root cause is that the Wenyuan Pavilion, which was ruled by civil servants, has the faint ability to evade the emperor, and the supervisor of ceremonies is the emperor's tossing out to fight against the power of the Wenyuan Pavilion of the foreign dynasty.However, the result is that the supervisor of ceremonies has also developed to the point where he may stand up to the emperor.

Today, the two sides are already in a situation where fire and water are incompatible.

In the hearts of most civil servants, as long as they are eunuchs, they must harbor evil intentions.No bad deeds now, does not mean that there will be no bad deeds in the future, and the servants around the prince need to beat and beat.

The civil servants persecuted the prince to make the eunuchs fearful and dare not fight against them in the future, and to make the eunuchs "recognize" that the prince doesn't care about these lowly people at all, and will kill the eunuchs at any time.

"Scholars are so strange. While shouting loyalty to the emperor, and sincerely believing in the three cardinal guides and five constant principles, they can force the prince to 'be good' at the same time. Anyone who they think is going to do bad things, no matter whether they have done bad things or not, will do it. Treat bad things. A large part of the consumption of the national power of the Chen Dynasty was due to the fighting between civil servants and eunuchs. They didn't care whether the other party's opinions on handling the government were good or bad. Rong."

Meng Qi was explaining these words to Mo Li. He shook his head and said, "At the beginning of the Chu Dynasty, there was such an ethos in the court. Even if there were no servants, all officials, civil and military, would fight against each other. Everyone felt that they were doing it for The country is for the people. The so-called like-minded people live, and those who speak against them die. If the opinions of political opponents are accidentally adopted by the emperor, then they will do everything possible to destroy it, so as to prove that this is a bad strategy for governing the country. Afterwards, you will still face the court. All the ministers, proudly explaining that they have seen it for a long time..."

Thinking back, Meng Qi also felt sick to his stomach, so he stopped talking.

The prince sighed: "That's the case. Some people are ignorant, while others are sober. If there are more ignorant people, the government will not be clear. Looking at the court, there are very few clear people. Even if there are, they can only go with the flow... It is me Forced."

Emperor Chu Yuan was so lucky to have a courtier like Meng Guoshi.

Not one yet.

Such a virtuous and capable minister who can't be met, but what did Emperor Chu Yuan do?

The prince felt a pain in his chest just thinking about it, he took a few breaths, and looked at the ink carp again.

I always feel that people of a feather flock together, and things form groups.This doctor must not be simple, but——

"Ahem, since the national teacher is unwilling, I won't mention it anymore. The two of you should leave. If you continue to delay, someone will come to the front hall and find the abnormality here."