one
The next morning, at dawn, people from the palace came to the inn at full speed. The young eunuch on duty got off his horse and rushed into the inn to deliver the message.
"Xuan, Shangzhuguo and the two young masters entered the palace to meet the saint——"
The little eunuch slowly gathered the imperial edict in his hand. Xie Xiangcai and Murong Mingzhu straightened up and looked at Hu Jie standing in the center together.
Hu Jie waved his hands lazily and did not adjust his clothes. He just added a fox fur coat to the nightgown he slept with last night, and led Xie Xiangcai and the two of them into the car and into the palace.
Xie Xiangcai sat on the swaying carriage, feeling a little uneasy.
Murong Mingzhu beside her was holding the dragon-slaying sword in her hand, with sword energy lingering in her hand.
Xie Xiangcai felt the strong energy around his senior brother and sighed lightly, but still chose to pat him on the shoulder.
Murong Mingzhu nodded slightly, gathered her strength, and waited patiently for the carriage to drive into the palace.
The vehicle passed through the streets and finally stopped in front of the palace gate.
Hu Jie glanced at the third-grade forbidden army general who was guarding the door, and then without saying a word, he held the sleeves of Xie Xiangcai and Murong Mingzhu, and the three of them walked into the depths of the palace on the clouds in the sky.
The moment the three figures leaped into the air, countless gazes emerged from the depths of the palace, converging on the master and disciples on the horizon.
"Hey, why did this troublesome second master enter the palace again?"
The slightly older eunuchs and maids walking on the paths between the palaces, after noticing the familiar figure in the air, all put their foreheads on their hands and smiled bitterly, feeling uneasy in their hearts.
This word "again" has actually been ten years!
The free-spirited white-haired young man from Shangzhu Kingdom, whose name is Immortal, held the wrists of his two disciples, and finally landed in front of the door of a pure and free pavilion. He pushed the door in without knocking. .
Monk Xie Xiangcai Zhang Er was confused. He followed his master into the pavilion with the words "Imperial Study Room" hanging on it. As soon as he entered the door, he noticed a man in the corner who was diving into a pile of rice paper, rummaging around for something.
Murong Mingzhu's eyes were cold and her aura suddenly rose.
The man who was rummaging around stopped what he was doing and raised his head in astonishment, his eyes fixed on the face of Murong Mingzhu next to Hu Jie.
His body trembled, and he immediately turned his attention to Hu Jie, then quickly stood up, cupped his hands towards Hu Jie, and said with a smile, "Shangzhu Kingdom, why did Ze come so quickly? This junior is not ready yet. "
"Qing Yan, what paintings have you done these days, and how many poems have you written?"
Hu Jie walked forward and flipped through the books on the desk not far away as if he were familiar with it.
The man he called Qing Yan smiled awkwardly and walked to the desk in a few steps, "I drew several large paintings and wrote more than ten long poems, but these days they were all taken away by the palace supervisor ordered by Prime Minister Wu. I don’t know why.”
Hu Jie casually said "hmm" and sat on the chair in front of the desk, leaving the man aside.
"I heard that you have read a few books recently. What are they about? Tell me."
The man looked serious, pulled out several bundles of books from the ground nearby, and spread them out one by one in front of Hu Jie.
"This volume is a book written by the sages of the previous dynasty about 'the right time, the right place and the right people'. The second volume talks about the late emperor's reduction and exemption of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, self-denial, restoration of etiquette, respect for heaven and earth, and the respect of all things. The third volume is being read today, and it says It seems to be governed by 'doing nothing', which is very in line with the wishes of the younger generation."
Hu Jie nodded with satisfaction and patted the man on the shoulder, "Reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles is not a matter of just studying and not going to court. Do you remember?"
The man bowed slightly and nodded slightly.
On the side, Xie Xiangcai elbowed Murong Mingzhu, "Senior brother, this is..."
Murong Mingzhu suppressed the sword energy around her body and whispered, "The current Holy Emperor, Zhao Qingyan."
The young man's eyes narrowed and he looked in disbelief at the man in plain clothes standing silently beside Hu Jie without any dignity at all, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"
Murong Mingzhu nodded calmly, thought for a while, and removed his palm from the sword on his waist.
Zhao Qingyan, the fiftieth monarch of the Daqing Dynasty, has been in power for eleven years.
Outside the royal study, a hundred imperial soldiers stood behind the sixty-year-old man holding sharp weapons.
Today, the Minister of War, dressed in court robes with a high crown on his head and a tiger talisman hanging on his waist, stood in front of a group of forbidden soldiers, staring at the closed door of the imperial study.
Wu Xiang exhaled a long breath, and invisible ripples appeared in the space around him, echoing with the other two places in the capital.
Hu Jie narrowed his eyes slightly and looked through the door of the royal study like a torch, confronting the old man in his sixties who was standing in front of the pavilion.
"My lord, Xu Hongqing, take over the Emperor!"
Xu Hongqing, who was the military minister, cabinet minister and recognized as the most powerful minister in the Daqing Dynasty, was standing bowed outside the imperial study room, his voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the palace.
In the royal study, the young emperor standing next to Hu Jie was trembling.
He signaled Hu Jie with his eyes.
Hu Jie rolled his eyes at him, stood up slowly, and pushed the door open.
"You are the emperor, and I am not the emperor. It's up to you!"
After the words fell, Hu Jie landed lightly next to Xu Hongqing and patted him on the shoulder.
"Hey, isn't this Lord Wu Xiang? I'm here to pick you up today. It's such a big battle!"
Hu Jie's face was full of smiles and his tone was contemptuous.
Xu Hongqing frowned slightly, stepped back half a step, and cupped his hands towards Hu Jie, "Shangzhu Guo is still as young and delicate as ever..."
Hu Jie laughed loudly, "Yes, yes, if you have no ambitions in your heart and no city in your chest, you will naturally be happy and grow old slowly!"
Xu Hongqing's expression changed, and his eyes immediately turned to the two disciples standing behind Hu Jie.
He just glanced at Murong Mingzhu, and then looked at the young man in black shirt.
Xu Hongqing took a step forward, looked at Xie Xiangcai from a distance, and said with a smile, "I think this is the young master of Qingmeng City. It seems that the rumors are true. He is indeed a talented person with great talent. He has reached the fifth realm at such an age. His talent is so peerless that I Envy."
Hu Jie's eyes turned cold, he chuckled, swept over to the young man's side, and knocked the young man on the head, "You brat, why don't you pay your respects to the Prime Minister of Wu?"
The young man was startled, then immediately bent down to salute.
Murong Mingzhu beside her remained motionless with her sword, her face expressionless.
Xu Hongqing saw everything, smiled without saying a word, and nodded slightly.
two
The chariots passed slowly on the palace road, separated in twos and threes, with Xu Hongqing, the young emperor, and Hu Jie's master and apprentice sitting in the front and middle respectively.
There were eunuchs and maids accompanying them on both sides. At the front of the team, a slightly rounder eunuch led three chariots while yawning.
When the chariot stopped in front of the side door of the Chao Palace, the sky was just bright, and the civil and military officials of the Chao Dynasty slowly walked up the steps from the front of the main hall, looking serious and unhurried.
The young emperor wore a golden dragon robe and was supported by the fat eunuch who led the team. He entered through the side door and walked into the main hall. The civil and military officials of the court sat on the dragon chair before entering the hall.
Xie Xiangcai followed Hu Jie and also entered through the side door, and then followed Murong Mingzhu and stood at the front of the hall.
The civil and military officials of the Manchu dynasty went to court in order, separated on both sides, with red and blue colors distinct.
Red is for military commanders and blue is for civil servants.
Xu Hongqing stood at the head of the military generals. He tilted his head slightly and looked at the middle-aged Confucian scholar in blue court uniform at the head of the officials on the left.
The middle-aged Confucian scholar's face is as calm as water, and he holds the scroll in his hand with a calm and elegant temperament.
The first civil official in the dynasty was none other than Cao Qili, the Minister of Literature.
Xie Xiangcai bowed and stood on the spot. He felt countless eyes behind him focused on him, and some of his hairs stood on end.
The young emperor let go of the Superintendent of Ceremonies' hand, cleared his throat, and said loudly, "My beloved, please be free!"
"Thank you Lord for your grace!"
All civil and military officials responded in unison, and then stood up one after another.
Seeing this, Murong Mingzhu pulled Xie Xiangcai and stood beside Hu Jie.
All the officials were standing still. Cao Qili was the first to bear the brunt of the attack and took a step forward. He walked to the front of the hall, bent down and handed over the scroll in his hand.
"I have a memorial report in it."
The young emperor nodded slightly and ordered the Chief of Ceremonies beside him to receive the memorial and slowly spread it out.
"Your Majesty, the southwestern continents are in the dry season. The terrain is crisscrossed with crisscrossing undercurrents, and the surface is rugged and difficult to store water. Now the people are living in hardship. In addition, it is difficult to transport water from other continents to the continents. In some places, the people have fallen into rebellion."
Cao Qili's voice was fierce and filled with righteous indignation.
The young emperor frowned slightly.
"Your Majesty, water conservancy is a major plan for the country. The southwest occupies the vast territory of Daqing. If we don't provide compensation, I'm afraid the Japanese will take advantage of it and the consequences will be disastrous!"
Cao Qili said seriously, and the emperor's brows furrowed even more.
Xie Xiangcai folded his sleeves with his hands and stood there a little bored, almost dozing off.
Xu Hongqing, who was standing at the first place on the right, took a step forward and came to Cao Qili's side, bowing slightly.
"Your Majesty, the terrain in the southwestern continents is dangerous. As the saying goes, poor mountains and harsh waters lead to unruly people. Implementing a benevolent policy is not a long-term solution. Please allow me to send troops to conquer and solve the problem of the ownership of the thirteen southwestern continents. Then I will send officials from the imperial court to take up posts there and put the thirteen The ownership of the continent is firmly in the hands of Daqing, so there is no need to worry about it. I am afraid that what Wen Xiang said about water conservancy is inappropriate. Water conservancy is true for the people, but it is counterproductive for the people. I privately believe that it is necessary to First send out troops to conquer, then build water conservancy, and hope that the emperor will order the troops to be sent out."
The Superintendent of Ceremonies suddenly said, "Master, what Mr. Wu Xiang said makes sense."
The young emperor held the handle of the dragon chair tightly with both hands. His eyes wandered back and forth between Xu Hongqing and Cao Qili, and he still had no conclusion.
There were already a lot of discussions in the court, and some even started arguing among the civil and military teams, gesticulating through the gaps.
Cao Qili stepped forward with a cold look in his eyes, approached the emperor a little, and said in a higher tone, "No, Your Majesty! The tribes in the southwest are already willing to submit, and in time they will agree with me, Daqing. I believe that we cannot send troops, and we need to do the opposite." In order to do so, we must first send officers and soldiers to appease the local people and exterminate the bandits, and then use the national treasury to build water conservancy projects in the southwestern continents. Only in this way can there be peace in Daqing."
Xu Hongqing refused to give in, "Your Majesty, the current state treasury is not very surplus. If we build water conservancy projects on a large scale, wouldn't it be 'beautiful to be a man'? It will further incite the rebellion of the tribes in the southwestern continents? The top priority is to pacify the Thirteen Southwestern Continents, and we will not build more water conservancy projects." Late!"
Xu Hongqing and Cao Qili, two powerful officials in the dynasty, fought against each other and insisted on their own opinions, neither of them willing to give in.
Xie Xiangcai was a little curious for a while, because his ancestors often said when he was a child that the military minister had high power in the court, and although the civil prime minister was in a high position, his strength and backing were not as strong as the military prime minister, so most everything in the court was handled by the military prime minister. Set.
But looking at it now, the civil and military parties are in conflict with each other, which is obviously contrary to the rumors.
Cao Qili, who was forty-five years old and a native of Beilingyuanzhou, studied high school at the age of five and twenty. After more than twenty years of ups and downs in officialdom, he became the youngest civil official since the founding of the Daqing Dynasty.
Although Cao Qili was a civil servant and was familiar with Confucian classics, he had a strong character. When he was the minister of the Ministry of Rites, he dared to confront the late emperor and made it difficult for him to step down. Afterwards, the late emperor recalled with emotion that he "dare to be the first". Even if he was promoted to Cao Qili to the Minister of Rites.
The young emperor was at a loss and could only turn his head and ask Hu Jie, who was sitting on the floor leaning on the dragon chair, "Shangzhu Kingdom, what do you think?"
Hu Jie opened his sleepy eyes, glanced at the civil and military ministers, and chirped, "I love fighting and repairing. You have to deal with your own affairs in the court. I'm not here to help you handle the government affairs."
As soon as these words came out, the court was silent, and all the officials looked at each other, at a loss.
The young emperor looked embarrassed. After a moment of silence, he hesitated and said, "What the two dear ministers said is reasonable. However, Daqing is peaceful and peaceful now. I don't want to start another war. The affairs in the southwest cannot be quelled by force. It is better to send troops to deal with the bandits first, and then Let people support the people and mobilize water sources from surrounding continents to supply the thirteen southwestern continents as much as possible... Water conservancy matters will be discussed later, and the people will be angry first."
As soon as these words came out, Xu Hongqing's face instantly darkened.
When Cao Qili heard this, his expression softened slightly, he raised his hand and saluted, "Your Majesty is wise!"
After saying this, he retreated back to the ranks of civil servants.
Xu Hongqing stood on the spot, and after a moment he said in deep thought, "Your Majesty, today I am going to the emperor of the State of Zhuzhu to come to court, and I would like to ask you to give me some advice on the matter related to Qingmeng City."
The young emperor's expression changed slightly, he glanced at Hu Jie beside the dragon chair, and then nodded slightly.
Murong Mingzhu hit the boy next to her with her elbow, and the boy immediately woke up.
