In Qingyang, in the main hall of Zhangtai Palace, more than a dozen officials, mainly Shaofu Zhao Cu, collectively submitted a letter asking the emperor to establish a prince as soon as possible.
On the throne, the emperor looked at the officials kneeling under the hall. He was so angry that he cursed: "Why do you have to make so much noise about my family affairs? Do you all have to add trouble to me now?..."
Zhao Cu, who was taking the lead, had an upright face, stepped forward and spoke: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, there are no private affairs in the family, and your Majesty's family affairs are official affairs. Mr. An Guo, Master Xiu, has noble character, modesty, courage, courage, and benevolence. Loyalty and filial piety, and meritorious service in protecting the prince during the rebellion against the prince. The ministers and others believe that for the long-term plan of the country, it is in line with etiquette to recommend Mr. Xiu as the prince. I ask for your Majesty's sanction."
The emperor stared at Zhao Chu with a cold face and asked: "Zhao Aiqing, are you determined to interfere in my family affairs now? I have my own concerns about establishing a prince, so please step aside!"
Zhao Chu still spoke with a serious face: "Your Majesty, I believe that the crown prince is the foundation of the country. If the prince's position remains empty for a long time, I am afraid that people like Xiao will take the opportunity to steal the artifact, and I am afraid that the country will be overturned, and the country will be ruined. ! Please accept your advice!”
All the ministers behind Zhao Chu also agreed: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhao is loyal to the country. I also think that your Majesty will establish a prince as soon as possible, and please ask your Majesty to sanction it."
The emperor was so angry that he coughed several times and angrily said: "Okay! Okay! Okay! Everyone is not afraid of death, right? Zhao Chu, I ask you, what will you do if I don't establish a prince?"
Zhao Cu took off his official hat with a calm face and bowed down: "If Your Majesty does not appoint a crown prince, from today onwards, I will resign and return to my hometown to farm, and I will not be involved in the government affairs of the court."
The emperor trembled angrily and said: "Well, Zhao Cu, I will grant you a favor and relieve you of the position of young master. You can go back to your hometown to farm!"
Zhao Ku kowtowed and thanked him: "Thank you, Your Majesty. Long live my emperor. Long live my emperor. I will retire."
After saying that, Zhao Chu exited the hall without looking back, turned around and left.
At this time, all the ministers in the hall looked at each other in shock. Unexpectedly, His Majesty really dismissed Zhao Darao as an official. Immediately more officials came forward to plead for Zhao Cu.
His Majesty reprimanded the ministers angrily, and then dispersed the court and left. When the ministers saw that Mr. Zhao, who had taken the lead in raising the opinion, had also been dismissed from office, they all had no choice but to retreat from the court angrily.
After retreating from the court, Huo Zheng saw that His Majesty was angry, and hurriedly chased after the Emperor and advised: "Your Majesty, calm down, Mr. Zhao is usually cautious and meticulous in his work. He has never made any mistakes during his tenure. What happened today?" These words are also words of loyalty to the public and the country."
The emperor turned his head and stared at Huo Zheng with red eyes, and said coldly: "What? You also want to persuade me to establish the crown prince early?"
Huo Zheng waved his hands repeatedly and said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhao has justice. To deal with Zhao Cu in this way, I thought that it would chill the hearts of all the ministers in the court. However, Mr. Zhao openly said that it was against the courtesy of the ministers and was disrespectful to the king and father. Disrespect, I think, should be punished! But it should not be too severe."
When the emperor heard this, he sighed and said: "I know he is sincere. Forget it, I will demote Zhao Cu out of the capital and go to other places to be a county guard. I will wait until he figures it out and comes back."
Huo Zheng said: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
The emperor took a brocade box from the eunuch beside him, opened a box of red pills, took one and swallowed it, closed his eyes, and suddenly his body trembled slightly, and he felt as if he was much younger. the illusion.
When Huo Zheng saw this, he wanted to step forward and say a few words to take care of the dragon body, but then he thought that His Majesty was angry, so he shook his head and turned around and left.
Outside Qingyang City, Zhao Chu was dressed in plain clothes and was about to rush to Lingqing County to serve as the county guard. Many courtiers who were close to him outside the city came to see him off. They also secretly admired Zhao Chu for still having the courage to stand up to him under such circumstances. His Majesty's thunderous wrath brought up the matter of establishing a prince.
Officials led by Sima Qin (tai), one of the nine ministers, came to see him off. Among the crowd, Prince An Guojun and his son Xiu also came to see him off. After all, Lao Zhao was risking his own political future and recommended him as the prince, so it would be interesting no matter what. mean.
Sima Qin had a good personal relationship with Zhao Cu on weekdays. Seeing that Zhao Cu was demoted because he thought he would establish a crown prince, he sighed with emotion: "Master Zhao is loyal to the country, and we feel ashamed."
Zhao Chu sighed: "Sima Jun, your majesty will understand my sincerity. I also think about the country and the country of the Jin Dynasty."
Sima Tan raised his glass and said, "Zhao Jun, your mind is admirable. Come! Please drink this cup of farewell wine."
Zhao Chu nodded, picked up the wine glass and drank it down in one gulp. He then raised his glass and said to the other ministers: "My colleagues, I, Zhao, will go to Lingqing County to take up my post today. Please send me to Chu. In the past, Zhao and all of you It is an honor for Zhao to serve as a colleague in the same court, and Zhao only takes this wine to express his gratitude to everyone."
After saying this, Zhao Cu drank it all in one gulp.
The dozen or so officials who were seeing him off outside the city also raised their glasses and drank the wine in one gulp, then stepped forward to say goodbye to Zhao Chu.
Lord An Guojun's son Xiu stepped forward and bowed to Zhao Chu, saying: "Master Zhao, the pillar of the country, has been affected by this in order to elect me as the crown prince. I must write to His Majesty to withdraw my order and let Master Zhao resume his post."
Zhao Chu waved his hand and said with a smile: "I appreciate Lord An Guo's kindness. Lord An Guo must never offend Your Majesty. If Lord An Guo defends his Majesty, Your Majesty will definitely think that the Lord and the minister are colluding, and try to force Your Majesty to establish a prince early. In this way, This will only leave a bad impression on Your Majesty An Guojun. I believe that the position of the prince is related to the country and the country. I recommend you as the prince out of public motives and there is absolutely no personal feelings involved. I hope An Guojun will not be impatient. , I will definitely advise your Majesty to change your mind and establish a prince as early as possible to appease people's hearts. Lord An will not have to send you far away. I take my leave!"
Young Master Xiu had no choice but to salute and bid farewell to Zhao Chu. Zhao Chu and his servants and family went to Lingqing County to take up their posts...
Young Master Xiu returned to his house and summoned his guest Wei Man, who said: "Mr. Wei, I'm going to say goodbye to Lord Zhao Chu today. Didn't you say that Zhao Chu was secretly working to bring Young Master Sheng to power? Then why did he risk losing his official position and being dismissed? He took the risk of provoking a court discussion and recommended me as the crown prince? Is it really out of public interest?"
Wei Man frowned and thought for a long time before saying: "Sir, to be honest, I don't understand why Zhao Chu would make this move. With his political sensitivity, he should be able to tell that Your Majesty will definitely not establish a crown prince. If he wants to push I shouldn’t have elected you as the crown prince when Young Master Sheng came to power. Now that I have left the capital, I am trying to promote Young Master Sheng to the throne. It is extremely difficult and I can’t understand him.”
An Guojun wondered: "Sir, did we misunderstand him in the past? But why is Mr. Zhao acting so recklessly now? Do we really judge the heart of a gentleman by the heart of a man?"
Wei Man said: "Let's wait and see if Mr. Zhao, who is loyal to the country, will make another move. I always feel that this Zhao Chu is not as simple as he seems. Time will prove everything, Mr. An Guo Please rest assured that the situation is now very clear. Although His Majesty is always lukewarm towards you, this position must belong to you."
Young Master Xiu said: "Not long ago, Your Majesty made an exception and restored Young Master Su's status as a royal family member, and established him as a direct descendant. I think you may have spoken too soon, right?"
When Wei Man heard this, he smiled coldly and said: "Don't look at him now. Young Master Su is just a grasshopper after autumn. He can't jump much anymore. Just watch! Your Majesty has forced the prince to rebel because of his cultivation of immortality. He has already asked his servants to Everyone looked sideways, Young Master Su was eager for revenge, and in order to avenge Young Master Kang, he did not hesitate to evade military service in the frontier and brought hundreds of dead soldiers to Huai'an County to help in the war. This has already committed a capital crime."
"Originally, the prince was defeated and committed suicide. This was the best outcome for everyone. However, he actually persuaded the prince to come back and escorted him back to the capital for His Majesty's judgment. Although he severely humiliated the prince again, he let out a bad breath. But this has also made His Majesty bear the reputation of killing his son. The former Crown Prince already had a reputation as a virtuous man and had a high reputation in the government and the public. Young Master Su's move is to frame Your Majesty into injustice."
"So it won't be long before Young Master Su is found guilty and demoted to a commoner to guard the border again. Moreover, Young Master Su may never be able to live to guard the border again. By then, someone will force him to commit suicide. In this way, it can be regarded as an explanation to the next person, and it does not mean that he has been wronged."
"As long as Young Master Su Yi dies and a direct heir is established, aren't you, Mr. An Guo, the only choice left in the government and the public? As for the twelfth prince, Mr. Zhuo, he is not like a human king. He is a fool. It is nothing to worry about. Even if your Majesty is The elixir has ruined his brain, and I will never leave the throne to him..."
After hearing this, Lord An Guo couldn't bear it anymore and said with a happy face, "Sir, you are not bad."
Young Master Xiu suddenly raised his head and roared, finally! finally! He finally got over it.
"Sir, if I inherit the throne in the future, I will never treat you badly. I will worship you as my prime minister and my arm. I swear to you that I will never disappoint you in this life."
Wei Man smiled and said: "Sir, I will wait for the day when you ascend to the throne."
Young Master Xiu and Wei Man looked at each other and smiled...
At this time, in the river forty miles away from the capital, Mr. Zhao, the former Shaofu, had already brought his family to the ferry dock. The whole family boarded a large ship and went to Lingqing County, thousands of miles away, to take up his post.
When the ship owner saw Zhao Shu and his family boarding the ship, he came over and sent a message: "Master Zhao, the owner of my village wants to see you."
When Zhao Chu heard this, his heart moved, and he knew who the visitor was. After settling down his family, he went to the cabin alone.
Zhao Chu arrived at the cabin and opened the door curtain. When he saw the person coming, he laughed and said, "It's really you."
Wu Xie smiled slightly and said, "I have already chartered this boat. You have a long way to go, and you don't have to be crowded with Xianzare. It would be more comfortable to charter a boat."
Zhao Chu said: "Thank you, Old Wu. Are you coming here just to see me off?"
Wu Xie said: "Of course not. Now that the crown prince has not been established and the government is in turmoil, you are very good at hiding in peace?"
Zhao Ku took a sip from the wine glass on the table and said, "I am not hiding in peace. I will continue to write to your Majesty to persuade your Majesty to make the young master a prince."
"Old Zhao, it's almost over. Do you still want to become an official? You will make His Majesty angry to death..."
Wu Xie suddenly stopped talking, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Wonderful! Wonderful! Use retreat to advance, Old Zhao, you really have it. If your Majesty has some shortcomings, your Majesty will secretly pass the throne to the Young Master Xiu. You have always been "loyal to the public". The loyal ministers of the country, "Ti Guo", are very likely to become one of His Majesty's assistant ministers, so that he can protect and protect the young master in the future?"
Zhao Chu smiled slightly and said, "Brother Wu is the one who knows me."
Wu Xie pointed at Zhao Chu and didn't know what to do. The two looked at each other and laughed...
