Surrounded by strong ministers

What kind of ostentation is the meal of the king of a country?

In fact, it was far from being as extravagant as outsiders imagined, at least the emperor Xiao Zong was not extravagant at all.

On the pear wood table, the meals have been set up, three cold dishes, chicken brain tofu, pearl skin jelly, chicken feet with pepper leaves, three hot dishes, sesame fish steak, tender pepper egg whites, salted crispy duck, and a plate of almond cakes smaller.Xiao Zong sat at the table waiting for his nephew who was taking a bath and changing clothes to eat together.

Xiao Heng appeared fresh after washing up. His silver-gray silk robe and loose hair were different from the usual brocade robes, which were sternly sculpted and hair combed meticulously. Xiao Zong nodded secretly. Be childish.

Xiao Heng sat down next to Xiao Zong, wondering if he had been in the bath for a long time, and his expression was a little dazed.Xiao Zong saw it and felt that he was very obedient at the moment. He smiled and put a piece of duck leg meat into his bowl, and scooped out a few spoonfuls of chicken brain tofu and put it on the small plate in front of him, "Eat more, It's time for you to grow up, so don't delay, practicing martial arts today has exhausted a lot of energy."

Xiao Heng said "Mm", bowed his head to eat, Xiao Zong felt that he was obedient.Before, he had always been sullen to the boss, and he was very worried about his eldest nephew who was like everyone in the world owed him. When the child grew up and remembered things, he was worried whether Xiao Heng was entangled in his father's feud?

Now he is relieved, his nephew is actually a good boy, except that his mind is a little out of tune with his age, and his face is a little dark.Satisfied, Xiao Zong smiled and took another piece of fish steak.

Xiao Heng raised his head from the rice bowl, looked at his uncle with a smile on his face, and after a while, he suddenly said: "Uncle, why didn't you become a concubine? You are 24 this year."

Xiao Zong was stunned for a moment, his first reaction was, as a child, why does Xiao Heng keep asking him some unusual questions?Without even thinking about it, he said perfunctorily: "This matter is complicated, and I can't explain it clearly in a few words. You are too young to understand. Let's eat."

"Is it because of Taifu Han?"

The nephew's words were like a sap, knocking Xiao Zong startled and dizzy, he said: "What... what are you talking about? Don't listen to nonsense, Han Su has nothing to do with whether a uncle establishes a concubine or not." Gritting his teeth secretly, His gang of unworthy courtiers are really capable, the rumors made such a turmoil, and spread to the ears of the children in the inner palace.

Just as he was thinking of killing chickens and monkeys, Xiao Heng nodded his head leisurely and said, "Of course I don't believe in rumors." Xiao Zong just breathed a sigh of relief, but he heard his nephew say, "Uncle, are you It's so lonely, I want someone to talk to, so I get close to Taifu Han."

Xiao Zong was even more surprised. Looking at the emperor's nephew's face, he was speechless for a while, and said in his heart, this child is only eight years old, why is he so precocious?He couldn't help but think of his elder brother Rui Wang Xiao Jing, that second elder brother who was four years older than him, who showed amazing strategies at a very young age.

Is it true that like father, like son?Xiao Zong thought to himself, now, Xiao Heng not only looks more like his father as he grows, but also his heart and nature are almost the same.

Withdrawing his thoughts, he found that his palm was damp for some reason. He raised his chopsticks to pick up the glutinous rice balls in the pearl skin jelly, but he didn't pick up one for a long time, but Xiao Heng saw him, and skillfully picked up three in a row. In the bowl, he showed his rare white teeth.

Xiao Zong moved his lips, just about to say something, when the waiter on the side called out in surprise: "Jian Shizi."

Xiao Zong turned his head in response, only to see half a small head by the door secretly poking inside, who could it be if it wasn't Xiao Jian?

Xiao Jian grasped the door frame with one hand, put the other hand in his mouth to suck, opened his round eyes, and stared into the room.Xiao Zong's heart skipped a beat and he beckoned.

The little boy immediately climbed over the threshold, jumped at his uncle, and threw himself on his uncle's leg, "Uncle...".Xiao Zong picked him up and sat on his lap, and asked, "Has Jian'er eaten?"

Yuanyuan looked at the food on the table and turned around without speaking.The servant who came with him helped to report back: "Xiao Shizi ate half a bowl of rice and a cup of whitebait egg custard for lunch."

Xiao Zong nodded, looked down to see the little nephew in his arms sucking his fingers and staring at the chicken brain tofu, picked up a spoon and brought some to his mouth.Xiao Jian opened his mouth, ate it in one gulp, licked his lips, revealing two dimples: "Uncle, it's delicious...More." His black eyes were clear and clear.

Xiao Zong smiled, stretched out his spoon and was about to spoon again, when Xiao Heng, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said indifferently: "Soon, he will be like us."

Xiao Zong didn't understand, so Xiao Heng picked up the food and said unhurriedly: "This kid is very attractive now, after two or three years, he will grow slowly, and he will not look like this, maybe he will look like this His father, uncle, before he grows up, let's take a look at him more." After finishing speaking, he bowed his head to eat.

Xiao Zong was stunned for a moment, looking down at the little nephew who was smiling innocently at him, with a pink face and big black round eyes, thinking that in the end the little baby might grow up to be like his father An Wang. With his tall and tall appearance, Jiu Jiu couldn't help sighing to himself, his eldest nephew is really a sight to behold.

Xiao Heng said those few words to himself, and didn't say anything until the meal was over.When he was full, he put down the bowls and chopsticks, took a handkerchief from the waiter, wiped his mouth in a decent manner, got up and bowed to Xiao Zong to leave, walked to the door, and turned back: "Uncle, I heard that King Qin is coming, you want to come?" Be careful."

No matter how old he is, he is a child after all, and Xiao Zong couldn't bear to be told solemnly by a brat, "Do you also think that I have neither emperor's prestige nor usefulness?"

Xiao Heng stood by the door, and after a while, he said seriously: "No. It's your appearance that makes people want to bully you."

Xiao Zong was speechless for a moment.

After that day, news of King Qin's entry to Beijing quickly spread.The people in the capital are not nervous about this at all. The imperial capital has been extravagant for more than a hundred years, and the warm wind and fragrance blow them, making them more like frogs in warm water than people in any other place.When they talked about the King of Qin, the first four words they talked about - Northwest War Wolf, was the most popular title for the King of Qin before he attacked the king, and he won it by stepping on the dead bodies of his opponents.

The people enthusiastically debated and guessed what kind of majestic posture the rumored King of War Wolf, who is good at fighting iron and blood, is really capable of fighting a hundred enemies?

Compared with the hustle and bustle of the market, the court hall is much quieter, most of the courtiers are absent-minded, and everyone wants to intervene in a matter of government affairs on weekdays, but now everyone stays in the train, showing Wen Ting's domineering spirit Children are not as usual.As soon as they stopped, Xiao Zong felt both relaxed and uncomfortable, before the Tuoba Feng people arrived, he inadvertently set up a scene to shock all the officials, this kind of deterrent power is rare in all ages, how lucky he was to meet it.

At noon on the ninth day of the lunar new year, the King of Qin arrived, accompanied by his [-] guard cavalry from Suanteng Camp.He led a group of solemn and sturdy troops to station ten miles outside the imperial city, and sent envoys into the city to announce that he would meet Tianyan face to face tomorrow morning.

When Xiao Zong received the report, he immediately felt that the King of Qin was very unkind, and the capital was already in a commotion because of him, but now he still put on a show and waited for others to admire him with great fanfare?Then he ordered Ren Buhui to bring everyone into the city to translate and settle down.

Ren Buhui went and came back again, but he came back to plead guilty to Xiao Zong.Before the emperor's order was fulfilled, the King of Qin only said one sentence to him from the beginning to the end: "This king will go to the city early tomorrow morning, so there is no need to say more."

Xiao Zong listened to his report and looked at his expression, he understood.King Qin is probably even worse than the rumors.

The next day, just as a fishy white appeared on the horizon, Xiao Zong got up, and the servant waited on him to wash and change his clothes.Brocade moon white inner garment, black and black wide-sleeved outer robe, gold thread embroidered nine dragons, silver thread stitched auspicious clouds, and a wide waistband.Although he lacked a bit of domineering, he still had a lot of grace from the imperial family. In addition, after ten years of confinement in Xinyang Palace, he had cultivated a gentleness that penetrated from the bottom of his bones. He was dressed in the emperor's first clothes, and his figure was tall and extremely noble.Finally, the palace maid hung a jade pendant with double dragons playing pearls on his waist, adjusted several huge night pearls on his belt, stepped back, and served the crown of God inside.

Xiao Zong glanced at the figure in the bronze mirror, but couldn't see that he was so attractive that others would bully him.

Turn around calmly and move to the Golden Palace.Today he finally wanted to meet the new king of Qin who only heard his name but didn't see him.

Ascending to the imperial seat of Daming Hall, all the officials were silent, Xiao Zong listened to the summons of "King Xuan Qin has an audience—" passed to Xuanwu Gate layer by layer.Waiting there stomped his feet, King Tuobafeng of Qin who was likely to stand up in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Everyone in the hall, including Han Su and Ren Buhui, looked up and looked the same as usual, but Xiao Zong clearly felt the heavy atmosphere in the hall, and his usual peaceful mood was uncontrollably turbulent .Tuoba Feng is about the same age as him, he is emperor and he is king, he is king and he is minister, but in the eyes of the world, they are so different.

"The king of Qin has an audience—"

The elongated sound of the proclamation reverberated on the gilded palaces of the Daming Palace, getting closer and closer.

Xiao Zong looked outside the hall.The white marble steps are long and lengthy, plated with the gorgeous rose color of the morning glow, passing through the palace gates, extending to the end of the line of sight.

In the thin morning light, a figure moves from far to near with the twilight behind its back, and the black figure gradually becomes clear with each step approaching.

——Tall and resolute, tall and proud, with an imposing aura, in the announcement of "King Qin's audience——", like a sharp sword, pierced through the peaceful and quiet morning scenery of Daming Palace, and pierced irresistibly into Xiao In the eyes.

Cold, insolent, sharp.

This is King Qin, Xiao Zong was startled.

King Qin suddenly stopped at the entrance of the main hall, his tall and dignified figure was like a rock, stern and firm, his facial features were obscured in the backlight, only the outline of his face could be vaguely seen, as cold and hard as an axe.

All the civil and military personnel in the hall looked towards the door, but King Qin didn't look at anyone, he paused for a moment, and went straight into the hall.With a calm demeanor, he walked all the way to the bottom of the imperial steps with an overwhelming aura.

Only one step away, he ascended to the Dragon Throne.

Above the Golden Palace, no one has ever been so close to Xiao Zong.

It was only at this moment that King Qin raised his eyes slightly, glanced upwards, but didn't stop there, just glanced over and turned away.

Xiao Zong didn't miss out on that fleeting glance, he could see it clearly - those eyes were like three-foot blue sharps, as sharp as awns cutting throats and bones.

In terms of physiognomy, the eyes are narrow and long, and they are cunning.His eyes were cold and cruel.The pupils are of a different color, as pale as amber, they are the pupils of a wolf, fierce and selfish.

Peeking at the heart.

As mentioned above, King Qin took all of them.

"Sir, I greet my emperor." There was a deep and mellow salutation, neither respect nor disrespect could be heard.King Qin bowed his knees and saluted, kneeling down with his terrifying sense of intimidation, it was extremely natural.

Xiao Zong came back to his senses from a moment of stupor. He had envisioned several scenes of King Qin coming to the palace. Was he sneering at him because of his meritorious deeds, or was he trampling on the emperor like Wen Ting?Or humiliate him in public?

But neither.

He greeted him with the courtesy of a vassal king, and the king of Qin greeted the king with the posture of a vassal king.He couldn't find fault with him, and couldn't peek into his thoughts. The only thing he could be sure of was that Tuoba Feng's strategy was not only on the battlefield, but also in the city.

Sitting high on the throne, looking down at this man who made the government and the public feel uneasy, he couldn't see his face, but only saw a figure that was bent but not weakened, dressed in a black and luxurious king's python robe, with a wide The hem is spread on the white marble floor, and the giant python on the king's clothes is flying through the auspicious clouds, glaring and full of hostility.

Really fierce, really tricky.

"Pingshen, King Qin."

The King of Qin got up, flipping his royal robe lightly according to the situation, and suddenly showed his majesty and arrogance when he raised his hands: "Thank you, Your Majesty." There was a touch of laziness in the deep voice.

The raised face was resolute and profound, and the facial features were as if chiseled out, cold and exquisite.

Xiao Zong suddenly remembered the words of his nephew Xiao Heng, he seemed really easy to bully.

Especially compared with Tuoba Feng.