At night, the Duke of Rong's Mansion is still so majestic and solemn. The gilt-gold plaque hanging high is awe-inspiring. The four guards with swords stand upright at their posts, with cold eyes without any emotion.
Zhao Kuangyi dismounted, stopped and looked up at the grand entrance of Rongguo Duke's Mansion, and then started to enter the mansion. Naturally, the guards did not dare to stop Zhao Kuangyi, and the concierge's boy was even more diligent in guiding him. This was the most powerful person in the Zhao family at the moment.
In the palace, when they learned that Zhao Kuangyi had come to the door, Zhao Kuangyin's fourth son, Zhao Defang, quickly came out to welcome him. Seeing Zhao Kuangyi with a serious face, he quickly saluted: "I've met my third uncle!"
Zhao Kuangyin had four sons in total, but only two of them, Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Defang, grew up. Zhao Dezhao has long been an official and now serves as the magistrate of Xiangzhou, Jinghu North Road.
Zhao Defang, who is now twenty-seven years old, lives in Beijing, taking care of his old father and serving as a Langguan in the Ministry of Rites. Because Zhao Kuangyin is old and his health is declining, Zhao Defang is actually in charge of all the affairs of the Duke of Rongguo.
Zhao Defang was well-known in the capital for his upright and gentle character, a gentleman, and handsome appearance. There were rumors in the capital that Emperor Liu liked Zhao Defang very much and had intended to marry him to the seventh princess Liu Hui just because she was already engaged. Although the rumors are not credible, they have a great publicity effect on Zhao Defang's reputation.
According to official history, Zhao Defang died at the age of twenty-two at a young age. A "sleeping illness" hides many profound meanings. Now, looking at his extraordinary appearance and piercing eyes, it is obvious that some of his conjectures are not just conjectures.
However, in the era of the Han Dynasty, the relationship between brothers, uncles and nephews in the Zhao family has always been harmonious. Zhao Kuangyi has always loved and cared for the two nephews born to Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Dezhao's position in Xiangzhou was personally arranged by him after listening to his opinions. .
"Yeah!" He responded to Zhao Defang, and the solemnity in his expression disappeared a lot. Zhao Kuangyi asked: "Where is the second brother?"
"Father is in the tea room!" Zhao Defang replied, with a hint of worry on his handsome face, and asked Zhao Kuangyi: "Please also ask your third uncle to help persuade him!"
Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi frowned slightly and cast a doubtful look at Zhao Defang.
It is said to be a tea room, but there is no scent of tea. On the contrary, the air is filled with a strong smell of alcohol. When Zhao Kuangyi stepped into the room, he was stimulated by the strong smell and showed discomfort. But what surprised Zhao Kuangyi even more was Zhao Kuangyin's current state.
Zhao Kuangyin, who had just celebrated his fifty-ninth birthday, is already extremely old. His hair is mostly white, his face is full of ravine-like wrinkles, he is extremely thin, his hands are almost only skin and bones, and he no longer has the fierce and heroic commander he once was. temperament.
Sitting in the banquet, his face was full of drunkenness, he had a wine glass in his hand, and there was some meat on the table. His mouth was greasy. When he saw Zhao Kuangyi, he was stunned for a while, then he recognized him, and greeted him with misty eyes. : "Kuang Yi is here! Come and have two glasses of wine with me!"
Seeing Zhao Kuangyin's drunkard behavior, Zhao Kuangyi stepped forward, grabbed his wine glass, and said excitedly: "Second brother, why are you drunk again? You still eat so much!"
Looking up at Zhao Kuangyi and noticing his concerned expression, Zhao Kuangyin smiled, wiped his hands wet with wine on his brocade robe casually, and said: "When you eat wine, you should eat it happily! Don't drink too much, why? Come and have a good time? These are imperial wines, fine wines that are over thirty years old. How can ordinary people drink them? Come on, I will fill them up for you!"
Seeing Zhao Kuangyin's casual look, Zhao Kuangyi was puzzled and annoyed at the same time. He wondered: "You are old and sick, and you are already so ill. Why don't you care at all and ruin your body like this?"
Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin glanced at Zhao Kuangyi again. He actually knew in his heart that what his younger brother was really concerned about now was probably not his own body, but the adverse effects that this frail body might have on him.
"Sit!" He extended his hand to Zhao Kuangyi, and Zhao Kuangyin asked the maid to pour another glass of wine, took a sip, and said calmly: "I usually love wine, but in the past few years, I have been too restrained and too depressed. Now that I am very old and dying, I don’t have much time left. If I don’t enjoy it happily, I’m afraid I will end up with regrets. It would be too boring to wait until after death for my descendants to pay homage and offer wine.”
"Second brother!" Seeing Zhao Kuangyin say this, Zhao Kuangyi couldn't help but call out.
Zhao Kuangyin's eyelids drooped slightly, and he said quietly: "What's more, these wines were given by your Majesty."
This sentence extinguished all the emotions that were rising in Zhao Kuangyi's head. After staying for a while, he slowly sat down and looked at Zhao Kuangyin who was still eating there, his serious face full of doubts.
Zhao Kuangyin is not allowed to drink alcohol, especially not to overeat. The greasy meat and food on the table are even more taboo. Emperor Liu knew this, but in the past few months, Emperor Liu had given him good wine and rotten meat at regular intervals, and even sent his palace servants to the palace from time to time for "spot checks" to ask whether Zhao Kuangyin was eating well or drinking well. good
The intention behind this, hint, should be called explicit, is really chilling to the bone. After pondering for a long time, Zhao Kuangyi said to Zhao Kuangyin solemnly: "Second brother, why is your majesty?"
When he opened his mouth, he could feel the suppressed resentment in Zhao Kuangyi's tone. However, Zhao Kuangyin looked very open-minded. He waved his hand to stop him and said softly: "It is not unusual for Your Majesty to be suspicious of heroes. Is it something? You still can’t understand? "
"I just don't understand! Why are you targeting our Zhao family like this!" Zhao Kuangyi looked indignant, still trying hard to restrain himself, looking very painful.
"There are so many meritorious officials and veteran ministers. I, the Zhao family, have always been law-abiding and have never done anything wrong. We have always been loyal and devoted to the country." Zhao Kuangyi picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. The bitter wine entered his throat and his heart ached, and his face was filled with tears. Resentment and unwillingness.
"Of the twenty-four ministers of Qianyou, there are only three or two left now. Naturally, they will be remembered by His Majesty at any time. It is not easy to be remembered by His Majesty!" Zhao Kuangyin sighed with a bitter smile: "I am not as good as Li Shaoyou. Your Majesty is close to you, and you are not a follower like Xiang Xun, so naturally you will feel even more sad!"
"You're already like this, why are you worried?" Zhao Kuangyi blurted out.
Seeing Zhao Kuangyi's indignant look, Zhao Kuangyin was a little surprised. His blurred drunken eyes sobered up a little. He looked at him, pondered for a moment, and asked: "Kuangyi, your mood is a little wrong today. This is very different from your usual behavior!"
Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi paused for a moment, subconsciously glanced at the maid waiting beside him, and realized that he had made a mistake. He quickly took a deep breath, adjusted his mentality, and gradually got rid of the negative emotions and regained his composure.
After thinking for a while, he replied: "I've lost my composure. It's just that now that I'm facing up and down, there are a lot of disturbances at home and outside, and I'm a little irritable!"
Zhao Kuangyin took another sip of wine and asked, "Why did you come over tonight?"
Originally, Zhao Kuangyi planned to discuss it with his brother, but seeing his current situation, he stopped thinking about it and shook his head: "It's just that I haven't seen my second brother for many days. I heard that I wasn't feeling well, so I came here to visit!"
Obviously he didn't mean what he said, Zhao Kuangyin chuckled and said: "It's about tax reform!"
Although Zhao Kuangyin lives in the palace, he knows a lot about the affairs inside and outside the court. Even if he does not take the initiative to ask, there are people of this kind who will take the initiative to disclose the information to him.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi remained silent but nodded. After pondering for a while, he said: "Nowadays, the progress of tax reform is very slow. There are many obstacles in various affairs. There are many objections inside and outside the court. Li Fang cannot coordinate and calm all parties. Seeing that the reform has stalled, I am determined to take over this task. But your majesty refused! Today, I heard that your majesty summoned Zhao Pu to return to the capital. Now he has passed Kaifeng and is coming west. He should be able to reach the capital in three or two days."
Zhao Kuangyi didn't say much, but he revealed a lot of information. Zhao Kuangyin finally put down his wine glass, and after thinking seriously for a moment, he said: "You are a little anxious!"
After hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi was silent for a while, and then he sighed: "I know it too, but if you don't take the initiative to fight for it, you will always just linger in the same place! No matter how far it is, from Zhao Pu to Song Qi, from Song Qi to Li Fang, your Majesty now They would rather let Zhao Pu return to Beijing than give me a chance! It is really unacceptable to use me while suppressing me!"
"Isn't this your Majesty's usual style of employing people?" Zhao Kuangyin said softly: "I still say what I said, you have to be more patient!"
"Second brother, I am about to know my destiny!" Zhao Kuangyi said.
After hearing what Zhao Kuangyi said, Zhao Kuangyin also fell silent. After a long time, he said a little tiredly: "As soon as the tax reform was launched, people in the government were divided, and the situation was turbulent. At this time, you should act cautiously, treat it with caution, and don't make any mistakes." Too many actions. Aren’t the lessons from the Lu Duosun case profound enough? There are some things that cannot be rushed!"
"I understand!" Zhao Kuangyi sighed: "I just feel really unwilling to do so!"
"Brothers Dang Jin, Yang Guangyi, Wang Zhengzhong, and Liu Shouzhong, have they looked for you recently?" Zhao Kuangyin asked, looking at Zhao Kuangyi.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyi nodded: "I've looked for it!"
"There are a lot of complaints!" Zhao Kuangyin sighed, thought for a moment, and said to Zhao Kuangyi solemnly: "You can give them a message for me and ask them to take good care of it! Old brothers, it is difficult to bear the erosion of time, every one of them has They are withering away one after another, and there are not many left. Let them live a good life and take care of themselves. Don't rashly participate in court affairs, let alone try to fight against the imperial government.
Especially Dang Jin, let him control his temper and enjoy his old age! Compared to the continuation of the bloodline, the blessings of descendants, and a few acres of land, money and silk, what are they? "
Obviously, these words also meant to advise Zhao Kuangyi. At the same time, asking Zhao Kuangyi to take the lead also has a vague meaning of transferring political resources and entrusting the aftermath.
Zhao Kuangyi thought for a while and said solemnly: "Yes! I will bring the words to you!"
(End of chapter)
