Gao Chen walked out of the cabin. He hadn't seen him for almost two years. He seemed to have aged a lot.
"Back off."
The women in white sheathed their swords and returned to the passenger ship.
"Mr. Song, I haven't seen you for a long time. Come to the cabin to catch up?" Gao Chen invited softly.
Song Che shook his head and said, "No, let's talk about it here."
"Mr. Song should know that His Majesty the Emperor has returned to the court."
"As far as I know, His Majesty the Emperor has always been in charge of the affairs of the court."
"When King Rui ascended the throne in the past, he wrote in the edict that he would temporarily take over the throne as emperor. Now that the orthodox emperor has returned to him, it seems reasonable to return the imperial power."
"Of course it's reasonable," Song Che said, "But what does that have to do with me? I'm just a businessman and I've never been interested in politics."
Gao Chen said: "But every business you do involves politics -"
"Master Gao." Song Che's voice became colder, "I hope you can get straight to the point and don't beat around the bush."
Gao Chen was silent for a moment before saying: "Daliang can only have one emperor, and it must be the orthodox emperor passed down by the previous emperor's decree, not a temporary acting emperor. Does Mr. Song agree with my point of view?"
Song Che pursed his lips and thought for a long time, then suddenly turned his head and asked the boatman beside him: "Mr. Huang, do you agree with this point of view?"
"Ah?" The boatman was a little at a loss, "I...I...I am just a common man who punts a boat. How can I dare to say whether I agree or not?"
But Song Che pointed to the river and said: "There is a saying: 'Water can carry a boat but it can also capsize it.' The benevolent government in the world depends on the king being undervalued and the people being valued. The views of you ordinary people are exactly correct."
He added: "Then let me ask you another way. Now there are two emperors. One is the orthodox successor, but he has done nothing and trusts sycophants, which has led to the collapse of the country, being invaded by foreign races, and almost annihilating the country. The other is in danger. The imperial commander personally marched, expelled Dijon, restored the Central Plains, defeated the Hu State, and pacified the northwest;
Which of these two emperors is better? The old man should not feel any psychological burden, just speak his truest thoughts. "
"Then...then...then it would be better to have a second emperor!" The boatman pointed to both sides of the canyon and said, "I used to run boats and never dared to pass by here because there were bandits in this gorge. But since Emperor Liang Jing came to the throne, the bandits have been wiped out, and the lives of our people have become much better than in previous years!"
At this moment, Song Che glanced sideways at Gao Chen, who had a gloomy expression, and asked slowly: "Master Gao, are you satisfied with this answer?"
Gao Chen said in a deep voice: "His Majesty the Emperor only made a wrong decision after being deceived by Jia Taishi and other traitors. Now Jia Taishi has collapsed——"
"But here comes Ma Wei again."
Song Che interrupted Gao Chen, "Does Master Gao think that Ma Wei is a loyal minister?" He turned his head and looked at Guo Shuyun, "Miss Guo, come and tell Master Gao what kind of person Ma Wei is. "
Guo Shuyun took two steps forward, gave Gao Chen a brief salute, and said: "Master Gao, I am Guo Shuyun, the daughter of Guo Gan, the governor of Beiliang. My father fought bloody battles with the people of Beiliang for three months to resist the Hunu. Ma Wei, for his own selfish desires, late It was his refusal to come to help that led to the fall of Beiliang and the massacre of millions of people. He is a despicable and greedy person!"
"And Zhao Sui!"
Ning Yehong stood up with tears in her eyes: "Zhao Sui coveted my mother's beauty, killed my father, slaughtered my whole family, and demoted me to a lowly status. Sir, you know all this! Loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, loyalty to benevolence and righteousness." Jun, he, Zhao Sui, is just not worthy of being the emperor!"
Gao Chen closed his eyes and was speechless.
"Master Gao, it's very simple for you to want the emperor to be orthodox," Song Che said: "Go back and talk to Zhao Sui and ask him to write an edict of abdication, telling the world that Zhao Heng will be the emperor. He can still be a free and easy man. Your Majesty."
Gao Chen said in a deep voice: "If Your Majesty is willing to abdicate, why would you call Ma Wei to Chang'an?"
"Then there is nothing we can do. Anyway, my emperor is in Jinling, and half of the world is under the world. However, the Supreme Emperor is in the north, where the Hu tribe, Dijon, and Xiqiang are watching. If the foreign tribes take the opportunity to break through and go south again, he will have to be captured again. Ah...we are all used to being captured anyway, so it doesn’t matter if we take him one or two more times, right? Master Gao."
"Mr. Song——"
"Don't call me sir!"
Song Che pointed his finger and shouted angrily: "I destroyed the Japanese Japanese pirates for the sake of the people of the world! I eliminated King Anyang, but also for the people of the world! When I quelled the Miao chaos in the southwest, it was for the sake of the people of the world! When I promoted Zhao Heng to the throne, it was also for the sake of the people of the world. !
As a businessman, I have done my best to this dynasty, but in the end, there are still these pedantic, ignorant, and power-hungry people who are destroying this great world!
As you know, I have spent more than half a year to capture all the sixteen cities of the Hu Kingdom. I am about to open up the Hexi Corridor and open up mutual trade in the Western Regions. I am about to usher in a prosperous age when foreign countries surrender and foreign countries come to court. However, Ma Wei's rebellion made All the results of the war were in vain, until the two emperors of Liang were in a stalemate, and the north and the south were at odds!
Gao Chen, loyal to the emperor, is not so loyal! Patriotism is not how we love it! "
After finishing speaking, he flicked his sleeves, turned around and walked into the cabin:
"Sail the boat and return home!"
…
At the end of October, auspicious snow falls in the south of the Yangtze River.
In the early morning, there was a cold wind by the river, and the passenger ship arrived at Jinling Pier.
After nearly two months of traveling, everyone was exhausted. Song Che took everyone to the Prime Minister's Mansion first, planning to rest for a day before going to Suzhou and Hangzhou.
"Swish, swish, swish..." As soon as they reached the door, they heard a clear sound of snow sweeping.
Song Che knocked on the open door.
The servant put down his broom, came to the door, bowed first, and said in greeting: "This official, who are you looking for?"
"New here? Don't you know me?" Song Che smiled.
The servant scratched his head and smiled, "Anyone who can come to our Prime Minister must not be an ordinary person. Sir, please wait a moment. I will inform Madam." After that, he turned around and ran to the house.
"As expected of the Prime Minister's Mansion, the family tradition is so strict, even the servants are so polite." Guo Shuyun, who came from Northern Liang, was full of curiosity about the whole journey after entering the south from the passenger ship.
She pulled Song Che again and asked softly: "This is the prime minister who is inferior to one person and surpasses ten thousand people. Wouldn't it be bad for us to disturb him so early?"
"Why is it not good?" Song Che asked with a smile.
Guo Shuyun said seriously: "He is already a very human minister. He must be unsmiling and not angry. This kind of person usually has a big air. If it disturbs his dream, he will probably lose his temper."
"Hehehe..."
Everyone was laughing at her.
"Why are you laughing?" Guo Shuyun put her hands on her hips and widened her eyes.
Lin Yue said: "You look just like the village girl who just came to the city from the countryside. You are afraid of the east and the west, and you ask questions about the things."
Guo Shuyun hummed: "We Beiliang people have this kind of character. We are straightforward and honest. It's better than you Jiangnan people who have to make eighteen turns in every sentence."
They laughed even louder.
Ning Yehong smiled and said: "You were wrong before. The current prime minister is not one person who is inferior to ten thousand people, but two people. One of them is the emperor, and the other one is," she elbowed the person next to her. Song Che: "That's him."
"Him?" Guo Shuyun grabbed Song Che's chest and asked in surprise: "Song, are you a Grand Master, a Grand Tutor, a Grand Protector, or a first-class official like that?"
Song Che shook his head and smiled, then pushed the woman's hand away, "I don't have any official position, I'm just a businessman. The reason why I'm older than the prime minister is because I'm his brother-in-law."
"Brother-in-law!"
A call came from the house, and Gong Lingzhi ran towards him like the wind at his feet.
