The palace square corridor is lit up everywhere.
Lanterns are hung in the corridor and under the eaves, and they are connected in a line, reflecting the red pillars. In the square in front there are low stone lampposts carved into the shape of a pavilion, and the lamps are lit inside, like stars on the ground. From time to time, palace maids and guards carrying palace lanterns walk past, their footsteps very light.
This is the palace in the eyes of a cat.
She stood on the threshold and looked back——
The people behind him were almost full, so they all put down their chopsticks, stopped clinking their glasses, and just sat and talked.
"I'm still troubled by something."
The emperor in the main seat leaned forward again and looked at the Taoist with slightly narrowed eyes, as if asking for advice.
"What worries does Your Majesty have?" The Taoist also turned to look at him and paused, "Am I the one who can answer it for Your Majesty?"
"This matter has troubled me for a long time."
"The matter of establishing a reserve."
"Exactly." The emperor was not surprised that he could guess it, and just sighed, "It's a pity that there are countless capable people around me, but on this matter, they are just a group of insiders, each with their own positions, and they keep arguing. Everything you say is full of your own little thoughts. Only Mr. is the real outsider, so I want to ask Mr. to see what he thinks."
"We were chatting at the banquet, not asking for advice."
"Okay." The emperor clapped his hands, "Even the traffickers and lackeys in Changjing are aware of the matter of establishing the crown prince and the disputes in the court. I must have heard about it, sir?"
"I've heard about it for a long time."
Song You said truthfully as always.
"How do those small businessmen and subordinates in the market discuss it? Does it mean that it is natural to establish a direct descendant rather than an elder, but I prefer the imperial concubine and the second child, so I have delayed it for a long time?"
"almost."
Song You didn't shy away from it at all.
"Ha ha……"
The old emperor leaned back slightly and laughed twice.
"Your Majesty has your own considerations. Just like those in the court, no matter which side they take, it is all based on their own considerations." The prime minister sitting opposite Song You said, "It is a pity that he helped Taizu start the court. Fuyang Zhenren once said that Taizu is a dragon and a phoenix among men. There is no equal in the history of emperors who founded dynasties. Dayan will surely become the most powerful dynasty in history. Therefore, whether it is Dayan or Taizu All bloodlines will suffer from the jealousy of heaven and continue to suffer hardships. As expected, for more than two hundred years, the royal descendants have not been prosperous."
"Who among the dragons and phoenixes suffers from heaven's jealousy? It means that the blood of my royal family is impure, so I have always had few heirs, and they are very easy to die in infancy."
The emperor said casually.
At his position, at this age, with such merit, he is naturally fearless, just like Master Fuyang and Song You, who dare to say anything, but when the prime minister heard this, he was very frightened.
"I see."
Song You couldn't help but nodded.
It is true that the Dayan royal family has few descendants, who are prone to die young, and inheritance is very problematic. Didn't the previous emperor give birth to three sons, all of whom died, and the throne fell into the hands of the emperor in front of him? In the past, there were two or three cases where the emperor had no heirs and had to adopt the throne, including the previous rebellion of Princess Changping, and even the previous empress. Basically, it was caused by this reason.
The so-called impure blood should be caused by certain genetic diseases.
"It's true that I like the imperial concubine, and I do prefer the second child to the elegant third child. But I also feel that having one Martial Emperor is enough for me. Dayan has been fighting for decades, and then he comes again. A Martial Emperor is not necessarily a good thing." The emperor paused, "However, if we look at all the ancestors in the past generations, all those who died young and short-lived are weak. Although the second and third children have successfully grown up, I don't know what will happen in the future. , but just looking at the present, the second child is strong, brave and aggressive, and the third child, although not sickly, is also weak. The most important thing is that the second child already has children, and although the third child has been married for a long time, he has not been married until There’s no movement now.”
"I see."
The second child in the emperor's mouth is what the people call the eldest prince, but in fact it should be the second prince.
The third child is the little prince.
Because there was another one before and died in infancy.
Song You couldn't help but feel helpless, "Your Majesty, you are considering me as your ancestor."
"I'm also in a dilemma. Sometimes I really want to ignore it and let them decide the outcome." The emperor said casually, frightening the prime minister and the chamberlains, and then said, "It's the same with the left and right, so why don't you just listen to Mr. My opinion, I thought, since sir is an outsider, he might be able to think of places that I can’t think of.”
"I'm not the Patriarch of Tiansuan. I don't know which prince is more beneficial to the people. I don't know whether the younger prince will die young or what will happen to his heirs. I don't know the medical skills. Although there are some small methods, since the Patriarch of Fuyang and the Patriarch of Tiansuan There is nothing you can do about the genetic disease of the royal family, and I can't solve it." Song You said truthfully, "It's just that sometimes, there are disadvantages and advantages to the choice, but the difference between the advantages and disadvantages may not be as long as the long delay."
"Oh? Sir, do you want to persuade me to make a decision early?"
"In today's world, when it comes to speculation and calculation, the National Advisor is definitely at the forefront. When it comes to strategy, Your Majesty is also top-notch. If the Imperial Advisor and Your Majesty cannot make this decision, it will be really difficult. Your Majesty and his long-term friendship It is better to make an early decision if you are entangled and procrastinating. If you choose a better one, it is naturally better. Even if God's will makes you choose the other side, you will have more time to make up for it." Song You paused for a while, "Especially recently. , The court is unstable and undercurrents are surging. I am most afraid of delay. If I delay it any longer, I am afraid that things may change and cause trouble. Therefore, hesitation is the worst way."
"..."
"Peace in prosperous times is hard-won and must be cherished. Your Majesty has been vigorous and resolute throughout his life, so why are you so hesitant at this time?"
"..."
The emperor remained silent and thought.
It seemed like it was really hard for him to make a decision.
It's true that the two princes, just by the analysis of others, do not benefit from who wins, nor are they affected by who loses. They can't even see which choice is better, let alone him, the person in the middle of the chess game.
After a while, the emperor spoke:
"These days, I have set some questions for them to do. As long as it is related to people's livelihood, the third child does better. But as long as it requires courage, the third child is not as good as the second child."
"What questions did your Majesty set?"
"Prime Minister, sir, please listen."
The emperor waved his hand and sat there, his eyes flickering as if he was lost in thought.
The prime minister took the order and said to Song You:
"For example, a few days ago, due to the previous incident of the princess, there was some turmoil in the court and rumors outside the palace. It doesn't matter if people talk casually, but if they are deliberately fabricated and deliberately spread some news to cause political turmoil, it will not work. The Wude Division found out that the rumor came from the ghost market outside the city, so His Majesty ordered the two princes to investigate, but also ordered the Vude Division not to listen to the orders of the two princes, and wanted to see what the two princes could do. "
The prime minister paused:
"The little prince racked his brains and asked for help everywhere, which had some effect, but in the end he was not as vigorous and resolute as the second prince."
"Oh?" Song You became curious, "How did the second prince do it?"
"The second prince slashed Wude Si's captain with one sword, scolded him a few times, mentioned His Majesty, and quickly calmed down the situation. Wude Si didn't dare to disobey, so that night he led people to the ghost market to capture all the thieves." When the prime minister said this, he couldn't help but praise, "It's quite the demeanor of His Majesty back then."
"..."
Song You couldn't help but be stunned for a moment after hearing this.
Then he raised his eyes and looked at the prime minister.
The emperor asked the prime minister to speak, perhaps because he wanted to see the prime minister's tendency.
Song You initially thought that the prime minister had noticed his nature, so he first told something unfavorable to the second prince, hoping to let him know that the second prince was cruel and did not take human life seriously. However, after taking a closer look, he realized that the prime minister He didn't think much about it at all. He was just talking about the courage and determination of the second prince. As for the captain who was not allowed to obey the emperor's order and was killed by the second prince, in this story, it is just a background that is not worth paying attention to. .
Song You turned his head again and looked at the emperor.
Naturally, the emperor thought so too.
And I feel that it is only natural and should be so.
"Mr. Song? Mr. Song?"
"Um?"
"Why don't you speak, sir?"
"nothing."
"Sir, you are a cultivator and have a benevolent heart. This is a great kindness. However, you must also know that the emperor is the ruler of the world. Every move he makes is related to the people's livelihood. Maybe just one sentence can make the difference between benefiting all people and leaving millions of corpses. , is the most important thing." The prime minister tactfully warned, "The second prince is indeed young and vigorous, it is a pity for the school captain. We did not expect this, but everything has its own importance. Compared with the people in the world, a school captain He was just a lieutenant... Besides, the imperial court had already given him a generous burial and treated his family well, so in desperation, it was considered compensation."
"yes……"
Song You heard it.
It probably means that life has a high or low meaning.
But he was right. The emperor of this era did control the life and death of countless people, and was above the common people. In addition to having no divine power and no immortality, he might be more like a god than a god in some places.
If the wrong emperor was chosen, more people might die, so in the eyes of the prime minister and the emperor, it was really nothing for a Wudes captain to die in such a way.
Different eras have different rules and concepts. Song You will not comment or argue about right or wrong. But before going down the mountain, this was indeed one of the reasons why he didn't like this world. Now that I heard and saw it on the spot, although I didn't get angry on the spot, I couldn't quite listen to what the prime minister said afterwards.
"It's getting late and I'm a little tired. Why don't I say goodbye to His Majesty."
"Sir, are you leaving now?"
"Your Majesty has prepared songs and dances for you, sir. There is a song and dance troupe from the Western Regions."
"I won't watch it anymore."
"But why did I make sir unhappy?"
"Just tired."
"Then I won't stay much longer." The old emperor stood up and hesitated, "In a few days it will be my seventy-second birthday. I am preparing a banquet for civil and military officials. Sir, do you have free time..."
"I am a Taoist. Taoists love peace and quiet."
"Okay." The emperor nodded, still not embarrassed, "I just want to ask, sir, when will you leave the capital again?"
"Leave Beijing at the beginning of spring."
"Sir, where are you going when you leave Beijing this time?"
"It's not decided yet."
"The next time I come back, I'm afraid it will be a few years later."
"yes."
"Sir, maybe you can see how much life I have left?"
"From what I see, if Your Majesty takes good care of your health, drinks less and works less, it will last for at least one year and at most three years."
The prime minister couldn't help being stunned after hearing this.
In his impression, even if the emperor dared to ask such a question, the imperial advisor would not dare to answer it. Unexpectedly, this person not only answered, but also answered without hesitation.
Looking at His Majesty again, there was no anger at all, only regret.
"Then if I see you again next time, sir, I'm afraid I've passed away and am just a ghost."
"..."
Song You looked at him indifferently.
Suddenly, I felt that the next time I saw him, he might really be dead and already a ghost.
What will happen to the emperor at that time?
The Taoist took a long time to answer:
"yes."
Then he thanked him and left, and left the palace.
Her cat had run away a long time ago. She found such a conversation boring and didn't know where it had gone.
(End of chapter)
