Seeing that his master had gradually calmed down, Xun Mou dared to stand up after thanking him, and then diligently refilled his master's empty cup with tea. Zhou Zhongwang looked at the apprentice in front of him and couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. He also knew that Xunmou was a smart man. Sometimes he was confused by some of the things he did, and he didn't know whether what Xunmou did was wrong or right. So Zhou Zhongwang didn't say anything about what happened in the morning. He just took Xunmou's tea cup and tasted the tea casually.
"Master!"
"Forehead?"
"In the morning..." Xun Mou hesitated, wanting to speak directly, but he was afraid of making his master feel that he was too purposeful, so he spoke halfway and wanted his master to speak on his own.
"You want to say how it went when you entered the palace in the morning, right?"
Xun Mou chuckled. Since the master said this, he felt that there was nothing to hide, "Master, what you just said, did you meet Lu Zuo when you entered the palace in the morning?"
"Yeah!" Zhou Zhongwang responded coldly.
Xun Mou also saw what was on his master's mind, so his tone became much gentler, "So you didn't see the emperor this morning?"
"Um!"
Zhou Zhongwang gave two cold answers in succession, which made Xunmou a little embarrassed, and he swallowed the words he originally wanted to ask.
Zhou Zhongwang raised the teacup again, took a sip, and slowly put the teacup back on the table. He looked a little tired and said after a long time: "Mou'er! I'm tired today. You go back first! I want to rest." one time."
"But..." Xunmou muttered.
"There's no need to say it. I know it clearly in my heart! I'll naturally talk about what you said in the morning tomorrow morning!"
Seeing that his master looked wrong, Xun Mou hesitated and became uneasy. He didn't want to bring trouble to himself, so he had to say goodbye.
The next day, it rained all night and finally stopped in the early morning. It was already dawn, and the wet square of His Highness Xuanzheng was filled with civil and military officials. But no one noticed that there was an inconspicuous person behind the corner of the crowd. He was Lu Zuo, and Lu Zuo seemed to be deliberately avoiding everyone's eyes and turning his back to everyone.
Zhou Zhongwang and Xun Mou were chatting happily with the officials. Zhou Zhongwang suddenly remembered that Lu Zuo would also come to the morning court today. Why hadn't he seen him yet? So I looked around to find him, but couldn't see him.
"Master, Master!"
Xun Mou shouted twice before Zhou Zhongwang reacted. Xun Mou also looked around curiously, but found nothing wrong, "Master, what are you looking at?"
Zhou Zhongwang asked strangely: "Have you seen Lu Zuo?"
"Lu Zuo?" Xun Mou looked at his master in surprise, "How could he come to the morning court?"
When Zhou Zhongwang was about to say something, he suddenly heard three drums beating for the morning court. The civil and military officials were solemn and hurriedly lined up according to their official rank and entered the palace in an orderly manner for the morning court.
Today, His Majesty arrived earlier than usual. As soon as the ministers entered the palace, the head official of the palace shouted: "Your Majesty has arrived!"
After the Han Emperor sat down, all the civil and military officials knelt down and shouted long live in unison.
"I'm free of charge!"
When the Han Emperor saw that all the officials had stood up, he first said, "Where is Yan Ziqi, the Minister of Rites?"
Yan Ziqi, who had a gray beard, hurried out of work. Seeing that the emperor had a brisk tone and a smile on his face today, he expected that the emperor was in a good mood today, so he smiled and said: "I'm here!"
"Have you counted the contributions of the foreign envoys?"
"Everything has been counted, and all the items have been put into storage!"
Emperor Han nodded with great satisfaction, "The Crown Prince and Prince Ning are indispensable for being able to feel proud and proud in front of foreigners and shake up the prestige of our Han Dynasty! I will reward the Crown Prince and Prince Ning with a jade Ruyi each."
The prince and Prince Ning left the class and said in unison: "Thank you, God, for your grace!" After that, everyone went back to class.
The expression on Emperor Han's face became more serious then, "My dear friends, autumn is coming soon, and Shanzhou has not been recovered yet. The matter of choosing a commander has been pending for a long time. Today, our monarchs and ministers will work together to select a capable commander." Talents who can take on this position, as the saying goes, 'Don't avoid relatives when you are promoted externally, don't avoid suspicion when you are internally promoted.' Come on, dear friends, if you have any suitable candidates, please feel free to speak out."
After hearing this, all the officials began to look at each other in confusion. No one knew what the emperor's intention was. Was it a test or a sincere search for talents?
Seeing that everyone did not dare to speak, Emperor Han said angrily: "What? Isn't there anyone in the Han Dynasty who can take command?"
Xu Bingde, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, originally wanted to go out and speak, but since he was criticized by the emperor last time, he was a little timid. He had to look at Xunmou. Xunmou knew what he meant and shook his head to indicate that he did not need to Say more.
Finally, Zhou Zhongwang couldn't bear it anymore and went out of the class directly: "I have my own notes!"
"Oh? Zhou Aiqing! Come and listen!"
"I am a humble minister but I am willing to recommend myself to take back Shanzhou for the imperial court!"
Cui Hao, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, also went out to report: "I feel that the old marshal is old. If he is entrusted with this important task, it will make foreigners think that there is no one in the world. Therefore, I feel that the old marshal should enjoy his life in peace and choose another one." others!"
When Zhou Zhongwang heard Cui Hao's words, he felt angry and sad, but he couldn't help himself.
Then Du Zongting, the imperial censor, came out and said: "Your Majesty, Du Zongting, feels that what Mr. Cui said is inappropriate. The old marshal has been working hard for the Han Dynasty and is loyal to his duties. It can be said that he has dedicated his whole life, and he has made great military exploits for our country that will shine through the ages. . Now that the country is in trouble, how can we treat this veteran minister coldly? Not only has it chilled the hearts of all the veterans, but it has also chilled the hearts of the officers and soldiers of the armed forces and the people of the world! Therefore, the minister felt that there was nothing wrong with letting Marshal Zhou lead his troops to the expedition. .”
Emperor Han was still expressionless at this moment, "Anyone else has any opinions?"
General Hou Zhigui of the Yulin Guard also came out and said: "I feel that although Master Du's words are reasonable, the old marshal is old and I'm afraid his energy is limited."
Zhou Zhongwang finally couldn't help it anymore, and said with a serious face: "Master Hou, what you said is wrong. A year ago, I was still fighting enemies on the battlefield, how come my energy is limited?"
A trace of displeasure appeared on Emperor Han's face for an instant, but no one noticed it, and then he said calmly: "What you all said is reasonable, but since some people said that the old marshal is not suitable, who else can Is it appropriate?—Where is General Changsun?"
Sun Chongwei, the general of the Longhu Guard, came out of the squad and said: "I am here!"
The Han Emperor still believed in his personal bodyguard, Chang Sun Chongwei, and knew that he would definitely recommend a selfless candidate, so he asked, "Does General Chang Sun have a suitable person to recommend?"
"I dare not speak nonsense!" Changsun Chongwei saw that many ministers were there and he did not dare to say too much.
"But it doesn't matter!"
"I think there is someone who is quite suitable, veteran?"
"Who is it?"
"Jinwu Guards General Gao Yun!"
Emperor Han was stunned after hearing this. Although he had thought about this person, he was afraid that the ministers in the court would try to stop him, so he did not want to assert his presence without permission. Unexpectedly, the old general coincided with his own ideas, so a knowing smile flashed at the corner of his mouth, "Why does General Changsun think that General Gao can take on this responsibility?"
