Linzhi

Tan Jin was taken aback. It's not that he didn't have doubts, but he still wasn't sure, and he didn't dare to say it categorically like Xue Tan.

"How do you know that?" He Rong kept his expression so calm that it was impossible to guess his attitude.

Whenever this happened, Tan Jin would feel that His Majesty was born to be an emperor. Even he, who knew the deep friendship between King Xing and His Majesty, couldn't help wondering whether His Majesty had become suspicious of King Xing.

Brothers fight against each other and turn against each other, although some people can benefit from it, but for this group of courtiers who followed the emperor from the local to the central, they don't want this kind of scene to happen.

But throughout the ages, how has this kind of thing happened less?Not to mention other things, didn't the prince just run to Yunzhou regardless of dissuasion because he was fighting with King Ji and was eager to make meritorious service, and ended up losing his life there?

Xue Tan said: "I have been invited by them these days, and I have been to several banquets. Most of them want to find out His Majesty's preferences and temperament through me, so as not to offend and anger His Majesty in the future, but there are also a few people, such as the Ministry of Households. Chen Cho, Ouyang Jian of Dali Temple, and others were quite dissatisfied with King Xing's inaction, thinking that King Xing had accepted a bribe from Li Kuan, or that the two of them reached some kind of condition to indulge Li Kuan in this way."

Tan Jin followed King Xing in Lingnan for several years and got along well with each other. Now that Zhou Yi is still in Lingnan, he felt that he had to say a few words for King Xing, so he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, King Xing..."

He Rong raised his hand to stop what he wanted to say.

Tan Jin was uneasy for a while, but he heard He Rong say: "Let's talk about how to deal with this matter first."

Xue Tan and Tan Jin looked at each other, and the former said: "Fighting poison with poison, suppressing blindly is not a good strategy, it is better to spread more rumors, in this way, people don't know which one to believe, the first rumor, naturally no one pays attention gone."

He Rong nodded: "Yes, I thought about it with me, and I will leave this matter to you. As for those who fan the flames, stay put for now, wait for new rumors to arise, and see how they react. It can be seen that they follow others' opinions and don't have much opinion, if they jump higher, then there is a problem, and they can be wiped out."

Although he has ascended the throne, he doesn't often call himself "Zhen" in private, and his attitude towards Xue Tan and the others is the same as before.

The respectful voices of Xue and Tan should be yes.

"Jane, I have something for you to do."

Tan Jin hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please give me instructions!"

He Rongdao: "Since the previous dynasty, it has been a rule to select scholars by strategy. It is only because the family is powerful that they are accustomed to recommending and entrusting scholars, which makes it impossible to stand out from the crowd. When vigorously promoting the recruitment of scholars, you first draw up the specific regulations, which can be implemented in the state capitals in March, and when the local examinations are over and the results are released, they will come to Beijing to take the examinations in September."

Tan Jin's heart trembled, knowing that this was a top priority, and he couldn't care less about hurting the spring and autumn, so he hurriedly responded.

When the two came out of the Xuanzheng Hall, Tan Jin couldn't help but said, "Your Majesty's game of chess is really big enough!"

Xue Tan smiled and said, "Did you see it?"

Tan Jin nodded: "Since His Majesty became the king, he has deliberately alienated himself from the family, and none of the people who are useful around him are from the family."

Xue Tan reminded: "There are still some. His Majesty values ​​Ji Ling, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, who is still in the hands of Li Kuan."

Tan Jin said with a smile: "But the Shouchun family is not very prominent among the aristocratic family. I heard that Ji Ling wanted to marry the maid by His Majesty's side, so he did not hesitate to fall out with the family because of this. If this good thing can really come true, it will definitely be It became the beginning of breaking the barrier between the aristocratic family and the poor family."

Xue Tan's heart skipped a beat, and he remembered that many years ago, Ji Ling was beaten up by His Majesty, who was still King An at the time, because he wanted to take Wenjiang as his concubine. Later, he heard that it was a private agreement between His Majesty and Ji Ling to play for outsiders. , in order to let the Ji family and other families know that the maids around him would never commit themselves as concubines, and if the Ji family wanted to marry, they had to be dignified and respectful, and welcome them in through the main gate.

He talked about this matter with Tan Jin, and Tan Jin was a little surprised, but also felt that it was not surprising that His Majesty took one step and followed three steps.

After the two left, He Rong couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose. Ma Hong looked at his words and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is tired. I have already prepared cheese, why don't you use a bowl first?"

Since returning to Chang'an, many things have been complicated, and He Rong has to do everything by himself. Although the officials below have lost their legs, as the emperor, he is actually not as popular as the emperor who sits on thousands of miles and enjoys boundless beauty. Because He Rong couldn't even spare the time to greet the Empress Dowager Pei.Naturally, there are emperors who just want to have fun and don't want to take responsibility. He Rong's father, Emperor Jiayou, is such an emperor, but the ending is obvious. The situation He Rong is facing now is not much easier than that of Emperor Gaozu when the country was founded. , the painstaking effort that needs to expend naturally also is more.

He Rong nodded: "Bring me a bowl, put more sugar."

He immediately seemed to think of something, and suddenly smiled: "Wu Lang likes to put salt in the cheese, but I like to put sugar. Once he took mine by mistake. When he took a bite and ate it, his expression still haunts me to this day." still remember."

Ma Hong laughed: "Your Majesty has a really good memory, how long ago was this?"

He Rong thought for a while: "It must have been ten years. Goro swallowed it reluctantly at that time. He turned his head and tried to trick me into eating another bowl of salty food, but he didn't know that I had already seen it through."

Empress Dowager Pei and He Xi hurried to the outside of the Xuanzheng Hall, just in time to listen to the last words, He Xi unknowingly slowed down, with a sad look on his face.

He also remembered this incident, when he was by the side, finished his own bowl, and was still looking at the bowl of salty cheese, but the second brother who arrived later yelled that the weather was too hot, and he couldn't wait for the maid to serve tea, He drank the bowl of cheese in one gulp, and he was so angry that he and his second brother had a quarrel.

Times have changed, and human affairs have changed.

Seeing them coming, He Rong was a little surprised, and stood up to greet them: "Why is the queen mother here?"

Empress Dowager Pei smiled: "I haven't seen you for the past two days, I'm afraid you'll be troubled by paperwork, so come and see you."

He Rong apologized: "My mother's forgiveness is because of the government affairs. I can't go to pay my respects in person. I can only ask people to go over and confess to my mother. After I have been busy for a while, I will make a good apology to you."

Empress Dowager Pei understood righteousness very well: "You are busy with your business, don't worry about me, I just heard that the Duke of Qin wants to ask you for title, I wonder if there is such a thing?"

Qin Guogong is the family of Empress Dowager Pei, and the last Duke of Qin, that is, the father of Empress Dowager Pei, died in battle. Since he had only Empress Dowager Pei under his knees, the title was bestowed on Empress Dowager Pei's uncle by Emperor Wende.But Empress Dowager Pei's uncle did not have the ability of his elder brother, and he could not achieve martial arts without writing, so he could not be reused during Emperor Jiayou's time. On the contrary, it was a blessing in disguise, because he escaped to the countryside early and escaped the catastrophe of the turmoil in Chang'an, and he did not go south with him. , and now returning to the capital, as the mother clan of the Empress Dowager Pei, according to the usual practice, it is to be granted an imperial seal.

He Rong nodded: "Duke Qin did come to ask for an audience, and wants to invite you to be crowned son."

Busy with important affairs these days, He Rong didn't care about rewarding the Empress Dowager's mother family for a while, so the Pei family couldn't wait to enter the palace.

But Qin Guogong is not a hereditary title, and it stands to reason that it is impossible to have a son. Back then, Emperor Wende bestowed the title on Empress Dowager Pei's uncle for the sake of Qin Guogong's horse leather shroud.

Empress Dowager Pei's complexion sank, showing a rare seriousness: "You don't have to worry about my face, just refute it if you have to, otherwise some people think that chickens and dogs have ascended to heaven, and they don't know the heights of heaven and earth!"

He Rong said with a smile: "Mother, don't worry about getting angry. When they visited the palace two days ago, I saw a young man named Pei Fei from the Pei clan. He responded fluently and had a good reason for advancing and retreating. He is a good young man."

People from the Pei clan also went to pay a visit to the Empress Dowager Pei afterwards. She was naturally impressed, and nodded when she heard the words: "This child's grandfather and my grandfather are brothers and sisters. It is a pity that my father died early and my mother is a concubine. Not very conspicuous in the clan. His Majesty mentioned him because of...?"

He Rong said: "I want him to be adopted under the pre-Qin Duke's name, what does the Queen Mother think?"

Empress Dowager Pei was very surprised, and then understood what He Rong meant, and couldn't help but feel a little moved.

In this way, Pei Fei will become the Empress Dowager's younger brother. If there are no accidents in the future, and if he strives hard, he will definitely be reused by the emperor. Maybe he will get the title again and let the title return to their hands. It's all for the sake of Empress Dowager Pei.

The Empress Dowager Pei said: "Thank you for your kindness. Adoption is feasible. As for the conferment, you can do it yourself. You don't have to ask me. If the Pei family violates the laws of the country and makes mistakes, the emperor will just punish me. Will not plead for them."

Because of the presence of the Empress Dowager Pei, there were fewer disputes with the throne. Otherwise, if she really wanted to fight He Rong with her own son, even if He Rong was sure of winning, she would inevitably be distracted.She is so reasonable, He Rong naturally wants to reciprocate. Hearing this, he said with a smile: "Don't worry about your mother, I have my own measure."

He looked at He Xi again: "You are not in Qinglong Temple, why did you come back to the palace?"

He Xi had gradually calmed down after the conversation between He Rong and Empress Dowager Pei just now, and when he heard the words, he clasped his hands together and said, "It's me, Meng Lang, please forgive me, brother."

He Rong didn't ask him why he entered the palace, but said: "In what position and what to do, just like men farming and women weaving, temples, rivers and lakes, there are clear divisions, if you are willing to return to the vulgar, then come and help me with the government affairs. When you become a monk, you should let go of it completely, and don't mix it too much, you must know that you are in the world of mortals, and your heart is toward Bodhi, and this is the right way for a practitioner."

He Xi was slapped in the face, and he couldn't help being ashamed: "Your Majesty taught me the right thing, I know I was wrong, so I'm going back to Qinglong Temple!"

He resigned and left, Empress Dowager Pei said softly: "Si Lang is devoted to the Buddha, but he is still young, so it is inevitable that he is a little bit off. He also values ​​brotherhood and has no malice."

He Rong nodded: "I know, but because of his status, it is inevitable that someone will fan the flames from the sidelines. If the source is not exhausted, those people will make more progress and do more difficult things."

What Empress Dowager Pei appreciates most about He Rong is that he has his own set of principles in how he behaves and does things, and he is very clear about his brothers, and he is not suspicious for no reason. This is an extremely rare quality for an emperor. Although it is softer, the roots of the ears are also softer, and it is easy to be confused by others.

The two sat down separately, and the Empress Dowager Pei persuaded him when she saw that he was tired, "The state affairs are cumbersome, and you can't finish it in a day or two. You should pay more attention to rest."

Before He Rong could answer, someone rushed over from outside.

In order not to disturb the conversation between He Rong and Empress Dowager Pei, Ma Hong hurried forward and whispered to the servant, but his face changed drastically after a while, and he turned around and told: "Your Majesty, the urgent military situation from Jingzhou is said to be true." The two armies fought, King Xing was seriously injured!"

He didn't hear anything for a while, so he had to boldly look up.

The emperor sat there without moving, like a stone statue of mud, without any reaction.