A side hall
The emperor was changing his clothes. He looked at himself in the mirror and felt that he seemed to be more energetic than before?
The emperor twisted his neck and sighed inwardly: "I am old, I am deceiving myself!"
The white hair, wrinkles, thinness, even the heaviness in the body, and the secret pain that tortures me day and night, all tell me that the old age is deep and there are not many days left.
"That's all, I'm going to the foreign court." For a moment, the emperor even thought of asking his grandson to host the foreign banquet, but he immediately suppressed it.
The emperor knew how much time it would take and knew it was time to hold a banquet.
At this moment, a eunuch walked in quietly, came to the emperor's ear, and whispered a few words.
The emperor paused while tugging at his collar and said calmly, "Really? My grandson just made a general inspection and didn't ask or talk much."
"Yes, Taisun only asked one or two questions to anyone he met along the way. He only stopped briefly at any place he went to. He only rested in a side hall and drank a cup of tea when he came back. But this It was Ji Liuliang who suggested it on his own initiative, and he just asked what the tea was."
"My grandson has gone to various gates. Can he contact the guards?"
"No, everyone in the team is staring at it. Six people are watching the records. There is no difference in comparison. They only asked one or two questions."
"Now, Taisun has gone to Hanzhang Hall and is waiting at the gate."
"Really, so honest?" The emperor was surprised. He always felt that it was more than that, but he also knew that this was done by not contacting each other and comparing the records, so there was absolutely no possibility of falsification. When he lowered his jaw, it meant that he knew it.
"Go to the outer hall!"
"Yes!" The eunuch bent down and slowly retreated. The chariots outside were ready, and the palace people were standing with their hands down.
Hanzhang Hall is the hall of court meetings and is very majestic. The emperor took a chariot and walked around the main entrance. Looking from a distance, he saw three groups of people - clan nobles, civil servants and military generals.
Although these people were all standing, they were greeting each other, and some even told jokes. When they saw the emperor coming in his carriage, they immediately stopped talking, and the black crows knelt down.
The emperor stepped down from the palace with heavy steps, and saw his grandson kneeling to greet him, so he smiled and said, "Get up, grandson. The weather is cold and the ground is cold. I say, you really don't need to be polite!"
"This is the favor of the emperor, but etiquette is the way of all times, but Sun Chen dare not be arrogant." Su Ziji said respectfully.
After becoming the king and grandson, and having subordinates, I understood the meaning of "it is not strange to be polite to many people" and "it is better to obey orders than to be respectful". Attitude is really very important. Knowing that the emperor has bad intentions, he will not give in on such a trivial matter. If a person seizes the opportunity to have an attack, it doesn't matter based on his physical condition. No matter how cold the weather is, he can wait outside and kneel for a while.
When the emperor saw his grandson being so respectful, he couldn't help but be a little satisfied. He also remembered the report, saying that although his grandson arrived outside the palace, he did not go in by himself, nor did he interact with the ministers. He only exchanged greetings. This satisfied the emperor. However, Just seeing such a grand grandson in his prime, the emperor felt an indescribable emotion in his heart.
The emperor tried hard to suppress this emotion. When passing by his grandson, he said, "You are interested. It is too cold outside. Come in with me."
With that said, he stepped into the hall, sat on the throne, and ordered: "Call in!"
Suddenly, Danbi's joy aroused. The ministers had been waiting inside for a long time, and they were all a little drowsy. As the eunuch called in, everyone who was sleepy suddenly woke up.
The officials who are qualified to enter the palace banquet are basically fourth-grade officials at the minimum, and they are all officials with real power.
In addition to these officials, there are some people who have titles and can be remembered by the emperor.
Some of them had empty titles, but they have long since declined. The old people are no longer here, and they may not even be qualified to enter the palace to participate in this banquet.
After all these conditions were screened, there were hundreds of people left, sitting in a dark place, with one person per table, a low table and low chairs.
The emperor and his grandson came in one after another. These people also filed in solemnly according to their rank, saluted with the class, and shouted "long live" and "thousand live" in unison!
Bow down to the emperor and pay homage to the grandson.
These two people, one is the king and the other is the prince, the salutes are actually different. The emperor looked at the officials who had paid homage to him and then went to pay homage to the grandson. He glanced at them and said lightly: "Everyone who loves me, please get down."
Then he looked at the grandson standing in front and said, "Come here, give your grandson a seat."
This is what it should be, so Su Ziji naturally would not refuse, but after thanking him, he sat down in front of the officials.
"Today is the Shangyuan Festival, which is a happy day. After the Shangyuan Festival, it is time to open the seals and open the Yamen, and we will get busy again."
"Today is the Yuan Banquet. Since we are summoning the high officials to have fun together, and we also have hopes for the coming year, I have to say a few words here." The emperor sat on the throne and looked straight. In the silence, his voice was calm. Not slowly, it resounded clearly throughout the hall, full of confidence and majesty.
All the officials bowed to face him, and all the officials stopped breathing. The vast and solemn hall was so quiet that you could hear a needle drop.
Su Ziji raised his head slightly and glanced down, his heart was shocked. Only in this situation can the emperor's control be seen.
"Taizu not only wielded the three-foot sword to wipe out the bandits and create the foundation of our great Zheng Dynasty, but he also reigned for eleven years to revive the decadent trend of a century, rectify the administration of officials, and refresh the government."
"I have learned the virtues of Taizu and inherited the country. I dare not say that I work tirelessly day and night. At least I can say that I diligently seek governance."
"In the past twenty years, some people have said that this is a prosperous time, but last year, three provinces and seventeen counties were hit by floods, and eleven counties were hit by drought. There were even times of drought, when cults were instigating and causing trouble. Although the rebellion was pacified by the prefectures and counties overnight, it also shows that the time of peace is far from over."
"Although I am old, my heart is not yet extinguished, and all the ministers must work harder to help me create a great Zheng era."
Hearing this, Su Ziji changed his color slightly.
Gu Zhan: "Of course, you are trembling and working extremely hard, and I can see it, so these instructions are just casual words - give me a feast!"
In a moment, the clock chimed, and amid the music, hundreds of officials kowtowed and thanked them and entered the table. The palace maids and eunuchs filed in and brought out the state meals one by one.
It is difficult to eat and drink well at such a palace banquet.
The food served has basically been cold for a long time. After all, even if it has been warm from the imperial kitchen to here, the spring breeze is cold. When the wind blows, it will become cold no matter how hot it is. The greasy food will have a layer of frozen oil, and the snacks and the like , it tastes good, but these are not serious foods in the eyes of many people.
Although the wine is good, who dares to drink too much here?
But no matter who they are, they must put on a smile and thank the Emperor for his great grace, allowing them the opportunity to enter the palace and bathe in the Emperor's grace.
Anyone who makes a fool of himself at this moment and makes the emperor unhappy will probably be unhappy himself in the next year.
Su Ziji sat there with the dishes placed one by one. His eyes seemed to be on the table, but in fact his eyes were blank, just thinking.
"To be fair, even though the emperor killed the prince, it would still be detrimental to me."
"But when Taizu died, there were still variables in the world. The emperor had been in power for twenty years, but the seas, rivers and rivers were basically clear. All the variables were basically eliminated."
"So the emperor's prestige is really not small."
"The only thing is two points. First of all, although the world has been peaceful for thirty years, it is not fifty years after all. There is still the last remnant of the troubled times."
"If it takes fifty years, I'm afraid I won't have the slightest chance."
"The second thing is that the emperor is old. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that his life span is only between one and two years, so everyone silently supports me."
"There are more than thirty people on the list, five eunuchs are available, and there is only one Deputy Qianhu and one Baidu among the guards."
"In fact, it is also a manifestation of this general trend."
"But my hero, my enemy's enemy, my enemy's enemy, my enemy's hero, if I can just repay him as an ordinary emperor, the situation is so great that even dethroning me is impossible."
"The court and ministers will never allow it. If they don't allow it, the emperor will not be able to do it."
"But today Shangjian's achievements are not small, and its authority is growing day by day. Although it is declining, it still has this power even if it wants to go against the grain."
"If you really cripple me, who can really help me if the entire dynasty is full of civil and military forces?"
"The emperor is wise and his achievements are not small even if they are great. That's why I vow to kill him."
"Life and death cannot be left to the emperor's will."
Su Ziji's eyes were dark, maybe today's court banquet was actually a show of power for the emperor, but the more this happened, the more he wanted to carry out the Xuanwu Sect's changes.
Even if the winning rate is not high, it must be done.
"Also, Nine Dragon Balls, test me. I only have this little information, how can you monitor me?"
"Is it going to hinder my great cause?"
Su Ziji's mind quickly turned to this matter. Just as he was thoughtful, a gust of wind blew from outside the palace. The emperor looked outside, and there was an eunuch beside him who heard the sound and went out for a circle. He came back and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, it's snowing outside, and small snowflakes are floating. The auspicious snow heralds a good harvest. This is a good sign!"
Anyway, regardless of whether it was a good sign or not, you had to say this. When the emperor heard it, he smiled, nodded, and clapped his hands.
Baiguan and Su Ziji both stopped what they were doing and looked at the emperor above.
The emperor's eyes fell on Su Ziji, and he said lovingly: "My grandson's talent and learning are now known to the world, and I am very happy."
"It's rare for our Ji family to have a poet."
"There is a banquet today, and there is snow falling outside the palace. It is a grand event. How about I ask my grandson to write a poem with this snow as the title?"
This sounds a bit off-putting. What is a "poet"? To the court, it is nothing more than poetry to entertain ministers. It's okay for others to have this title. It's really not a good thing for a grandson to have this title.
Su Ziji had known for a long time that the emperor might make some moves at today's banquet, and he heard these words at that moment.
So he immediately stood up and responded.
After finally agreeing, the emperor said again: "If you just compose poetry in ordinary ways, it is really meaningless. How about... Grandson, how about you compose a poem in seven steps and a good story?"
As soon as these words came out, several important ministers who had been feeling uneasy before had serious expressions on their faces, while other ministers could not help but frown, feeling both surprised and uneasy at the emperor's suggestion.
Writing a poem in seven steps is not a good thing. The most famous example of a poem in seven steps was when a brother wanted to kill his younger brother. How could the emperor be so confused that he actually asked his grandson to write a poem in seven steps?
Don't let this matter spread out, I am afraid that there will be undercurrents in the capital and even the local area, and some troubles will arise. Just looking at it, the eyes of the King of Qi and the King of Shu suddenly lit up, and they couldn't help but straighten up, sweeping away the decline of the original grandson. , you knew something was wrong.
The cabinet ministers looked at each other in shock, seeing each other's shocked and heavy eyes.
