Linzhi

"Your Majesty!" the prince couldn't hold back, straightened his body and said anxiously.

For a moment, all eyes were on him.

But at this moment, the prince made eye contact with Liu Zhong who was opposite, and the latter shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Because he couldn't speak, Liu Zhong could only cast anxious glances, hoping that the other party would understand.

"Prince, what do you want to say?" Emperor Jiayou wondered.

The prince took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his tone was much calmer: "What I want to say is that Your Majesty is wise, Heng Guogong and Zhang Shangshu are noble in character, have both ability and political integrity, and are the pillars of the country. , I have no objection."

No matter how calm Li Kuan was, he couldn't help being slightly surprised, and looked sideways at the prince.

He also thought that the other party would fight hard for the sake of primary and secondary, and in the end he had to force the emperor to change his mind.

Is it because the prince saw that the emperor's mind has been determined, or is it because Zhang Song does not belong to the Taiye Party, so the prince is unwilling to spend his energy to fight for it?Li Kuan thought about it.

Emperor Jiayou smiled and said: "I thought you were going to say something, you said it well, Duke Heng and Zhang Shangshu are both my ministers, I was a little bit embarrassed before, but now thanks to your good idea, From now on, the two prime ministers, the left and the right, can even more help me share my worries and solve my problems."

Li Kuan and Zhang Song humbly declined, saying that they had no morals and incompetence, and were not good enough to take on this heavy responsibility. However, since Emperor Jiayou spoke up and no one objected, it was considered a final decision.

He Rong hadn't said a word since he came in, and He Rong had been thinking about what the crown prince said to him before he came in.

The prince said that no matter what happens later, you must believe him.

This sentence is obviously not about Li Xiang, so in other words, there will be another change in the court today?

At this moment, He Rong heard Liu Zhong say: "Your Majesty, I have a statement."

The yawn that Emperor Jiayou was about to yawn had no choice but to take it back.

"Say."

Liu Zhong: "Since Emperor Gaozu, the number of heirs in the Tian family has gradually increased. This is a good thing. When Emperor Gaozu was alive, he cherished the kings and did not want them to be far away from him. Therefore, he gave food to the kings, so that they could enjoy the family and share the family relationship. , but people will cry when they are not fair, and greedy when they are not enough. It has always been like this. With a loving father's heart, I hope that my children will be harmonious and filial, but I have neglected the greed of human nature. Therefore, in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes and avoid the disaster of Xiao Qiang, I ask your majesty to entrust the kings and let them go to the fiefs, so as to calm the hearts of the subjects of the world. , to protect the country and the country for thousands of years."

The kings and princesses of this dynasty only have Shiyi and enjoy the food and salary from the fiefdom, but they have no actual fiefdom. Like He Rong and He Zhan, they can be stationed in a certain place for a long time, just like other court officials. As soon as they arrive, or the emperor orders, they will also return to Beijing to report on their duties.

Liu Zhong will definitely not make this proposal for no reason. If the proposal is approved, the late emperor’s son, King Wei, and brothers He Rong and the others will each go to the fiefdom. From now on, if there is no king’s order, no Leaving the fief without permission, not to mention the year and month before returning to Beijing.

If He Xiu wants to go to the fiefdom, even if Li Kuan becomes the prime minister, the two of them will not be able to connect with each other thousands of miles away. The crown prince wants to use this trick to resolve the crisis brought about by Li Kuan as prime minister. .

He Rong finally understood why the prince said that to him.

In fact, the prince didn't need to give such a special order at first, even if he was not mentally prepared, He Rong would not speak up when he heard the news.

Because there are people who are more anxious than him.

There was no surprise on Emperor Jiayou's face, it was obvious that the crown prince had gotten angry with him earlier.

"What do you love ladies think about this matter?"

Zhang Song's faction has no objection, they are neither princelings nor royalists, no matter who becomes the emperor in the end, even if the dynasty changes, as long as the emperor wants to make the dynasty long-term, it is impossible to throw the family aside.

And as Liu Zhong said, dividing the kings into feudal lords disperses them all over the world, reducing the risk of rebellion by the kings, and making them incapable of plotting wrongdoing, which is conducive to the stability of the country and the peace of the world.In fact, as early as Emperor Xian, after Bingshen's rebellion case, Prime Minister Zhou Ying had privately suggested to Emperor Xian to let the remaining kings go to their respective fiefs, but Emperor Xian didn't obey at that time, and it was delayed until King Qi conspired against him.

Seeing the pensive look on Li Kuan's face, Emperor Jiayou said softly, "What do you think, Prime Minister Li?"

Before the official decree was issued, Li Xiang called out, and the prince cursed in his heart.

Li Kuan said: "Being in a foreign place, thousands of miles away from the capital, if the kings want to be filial in the future, they will be powerless, because they cannot easily leave the fief and return to the capital. There are advantages and disadvantages, and it is not easy to talk about it at the moment, but there is one thing that I don't know, should I talk about it or not?"

Emperor Jiayou: "If you have something to say, just say it."

Li Kuan: "When the princes go to the fiefdom, then... in the future, the sons of Empress Pei must also do the same?"

Everyone was stunned by this question.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Li Kuan continued: "The name of the crown prince has been determined, there is no doubt that if you don't do it, it will be unfair to the other princes, and it will appear that your majesty is partial. If you do it, the eighth highness is the queen's son after all... "

Rao He Rong, I have to say that Li Kuan's counterattack is really wonderful!

Not only was it wonderful, but the other party's quick response was completely unexpected.

He Rong couldn't be more clear about how the crown prince came to be the crown prince.In addition to his being the eldest son, Emperor Jiayou felt empathy for what happened to him because of his status, there was another very important reason, and that was that Empress Pei was indisputable!

Back then, Empress Pei understood the righteousness, not only did she not fight, but she took the initiative to ask for the crown prince. If she wanted to fight, not to mention whether the prince can still sit in the court, at least there was a good fight between each other. , even the crown prince has to accept a huge favor from her.

But now if the kings are entrusted, as Li Kuan said, will the queen's son obey or not in the future?

If you don't obey, the other princes will definitely think it's unfair. If you obey, how will the prince explain to Empress Pei?

Said that I not only snatched your son's crown prince, but also threw your son out of town, so that you mother and son will not be able to see each other in the future?

I'm afraid that no matter how wise and generous Empress Pei is, she must think that the prince is deliberately digging a hole for her own son, right?

The prince's face changed slightly, obviously thinking of this.

Emperor Jiayou frowned slightly, with a troubled expression on his face: "What Li Xiang said makes sense, so let's put this matter aside for now and discuss it later."

Next, everyone discussed a few more things. There was the mausoleum project reported by Ji Ling, and the progress of the trial strategy reported by Xue Tan. Scholars from all walks of life had gathered in the capital one after another. But compared with before, these have become trivial matters.

He Rong, who was a bystander from the beginning to the end, thought that he could be completely dumb today, but Emperor Jiayou announced the disbandment of the court, and everyone left one after another. When he reached the entrance of Xuanzheng Hall, He Xiu called him back.

"Sanlang, go slowly."

He Rong turned around: "Second brother, what's the matter?"

He Xiu came over and looked at him: "Is it your idea for the prince to distribute the kings?"

He Rong shook his head: "No."

He Xiu: "What about the establishment of a second minister?"

He Rong didn't answer and asked instead: "Second Brother asked these questions, what are you doing?"

He Xiu smiled: "That's it?"

He Rong pondered for a moment: "Second brother to tell you the truth, I did advise the prince to set up a second minister, just because the power of the prime minister in this dynasty was concentrated in one person, and when the prime minister was sick, there was no one to do the prime minister's errands. Back to the Six Divisions, it is a matter of course to set up the two phases."

He Xiu looked at him for a while, with a sarcasm on his face: "Sanlang, I always thought that you are different from elder brother, even if I have feelings for elder brother, at least your heart for both of us remains the same, but I didn't expect that you have quietly stood by the elder brother's side, and you are still talking about me with high-sounding words. You can just coax Goro with these words, do you still want to coax me?"

He Rong: "Second brother, I know that you are angry now, no matter what I say, you will not believe me, but I treat you and Goro differently, I have never changed."

The corner of He Xiu's mouth slightly raised: "Brother also said that he has never changed, but in fact? Look, Empress Pei has treated him with the utmost benevolence and righteousness, right? But the empress' son-in-law blocked his way. Shot, when is it my turn? When is it your turn?"

He Rong was not a talkative person, he felt that there was no need to explain, so he didn't answer He Xiu, cupped his hands, turned around and left.

In the past, he was entrusted by the crown prince to persuade He Xiu, let go of his prejudices and hatred, and walk out his own way. At that time, he was willing to go because he knew that there was still room for redemption.

But today he doesn't want to say more, it's the same reason.

The river is rushing forward, and there is absolutely no possibility of turning around and returning, just like the brothers, when they reach a fork, one wants to go east, the other wants to go west, no one can persuade the other, and in the end, they can only part ways.

He Rong stepped forward, knowing that He Xiu was watching him behind him, and when he turned his head, he never stopped for a moment.

……

"It's none of my business for their brothers to wrestle. Why did they drag me into it? This is really a fight between gods and mortals, and I've been unlucky for eight lifetimes!"

Inside the Duke Heng's mansion, the visitor said angrily.

"Your Highness don't need to be so angry. Thinking about it on the other hand, this might not be a bad thing. In the capital, at the feet of the emperor, people are watching every move all the time. You have to be cautious in everything, for fear of being suspected. Don't you feel tired? Go The fief is over, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so you have the final say?"

Li Kuan smiled slightly, took the teacup from the maid with his own hands, and handed it to King Wei.

"That being said..." King Wei was worried, "Is there really no room for maneuver?"