Linzhi

"Heng Guogong..." These three words were chewed in his mouth for a moment, with a long meaning.

"Grandfather Heng's grandmother is His Majesty's aunt, Princess Yiyang. From the perspective of status, he is a serious relative of the emperor. He is neither a high-ranking family nor a child of a poor family. He should be closer to Tian's family; moreover, during the time of the first emperor, he led troops out of the customs, sniped the Turks, and won three battles. If he hadn't been hit by an arrow and returned to Beijing to recuperate, he might have already surpassed Chen Wei and Zhang Tao. He is a famous general in the world; he has made great contributions to saving his family, but he is not proud of it. He is humble and humorous in every way, and gets along well with His Majesty in court and in opposition. Like Duke Heng, not like Zhang Song, who manages his prime minister everywhere."

The crown prince raised his forehead: "Sanlang, did you take some wrong medicine today, why did you talk to Li Kuan instead?"

He Rong: "Brother, I'm just explaining why Li Kuan is valued by His Majesty from the perspective of a bystander."

The prince had no choice but to say, "Okay, now tell me what you think of Li Kuan from your own perspective."

He Rong: "Brother, no matter what we think of Li Kuan, Zhou Xiang, the veteran of the three dynasties, has ruled the court for decades, no matter whether it is out of public interest or selfishness, His Majesty will not be happy to see the family as a prime minister again, no matter how upright and selfless Zhang Song is. , he is also a member of the Du Ling Zhang family."

"His Royal Highness King An is wise, and the current situation is exactly like this." Sinonong Shaoqing Yu Xian said.

Before He Rong returned to Beijing, they had discussed this matter with the prince several times.

The few people present, who were invited here today, are undoubtedly hardcore Donggong Party members, and they all have one thing in common, that is, none of them come from a family with the surname Gao, whether they are poor or rich, they are all common people The children were promoted step by step through the imperial examination.

Liu Zhong, Minister of the Ministry of Rites present here, has been serving as Minister of the Ministry of Officials for many years, but he has not been promoted because he came from a poor family, has no outstanding achievements in politics, and has mediocre qualifications. The two ends of the first mouse in the palace change, after being pushed down by Emperor Jiayou, the prince saw the timing and pushed him up.

Not to mention the other few people, Sinong Shaoqing is not a prominent official position, the three crown princes, if they have no other official positions, at best they are the prince's companions, and they have no influence outside, but among the three Jiang Yue and He Rong have heard of them. They are well-known among the literati in Qingliu in the capital, and they were also famous for their filial piety. Emperor Jiayou must have taken a fancy to these points, so he let them serve as officials to assist the crown prince.

Yu Xiandao: "In my opinion, His Majesty also doesn't want Zhang Song to be the prime minister."

Emperor Jiayou left the capital in his early years and lived in Fangzhou for more than ten years. He didn't have time to cultivate his own influence, and he didn't have a deep relationship with the family. Moreover, he was influenced by the late emperor, and he always held a heart of jealousy towards the family. He also tried his best in governance. Continuing the tradition of the first emperor, he did not forget to promote officials from civilian backgrounds while appointing aristocratic families. This is also an important reason why the prince was able to push Liu Zhong to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Officials.

This is what Emperor Jiayou and the prince have in common, but the difference is that Emperor Jiayou is more optimistic about Li Kuan in the choice of aspect, while the prince does not like Li Kuan.

He Rong said: "You don't like Li Kuan or Zhang Song, so there must be someone to recommend to His Majesty, right?"

Several people looked at each other, and Yu Xian coughed lightly: "We thought that Liu Shangshu was good enough for this position."

He Rong was noncommittal, touched his stomach, and picked up the chopsticks to pick up vegetables to eat.

If it wasn't for being rude in front of his subordinates, the prince really wanted to reach out and grab the chopsticks.

"Sanlang, you told me last time that Li Kuan was involved in the Bingshen case..."

"Brother," He Rong interrupted him, "I was just skeptical about that incident at the time. There was no proof, no evidence, and it was not convincing at all, so there is no need to mention it again. Liu Shangshu is certainly capable, but His Majesty prefers Heng Duke, others have nothing to do, unless..."

Prince: "Unless what?"

He Rong smiled: "I don't believe that everyone here will not think of it."

The prince hesitated: "You mean, form an alliance with Zhang Song and the others?"

He Rong nodded and said: "Forgive me, although Liu Shangshu is now one of the six Shangshu, everyone knows that you are close to His Royal Highness, and you have just been promoted to Shangshu not long ago. It will cause more criticism and opposition, which will be detrimental to the prince."

Liu Zhong sighed, got up and cupped his hands and said: "King An hit the nail on the head, every word is true, and the officials are admired, to tell the truth, we did consider cooperating with Zhang Song and others to expel Heng Guogong together, but I came to the door When visiting Zhang Song, the other party not only thought highly of himself, but implied that he declined His Highness the Crown Prince's plan to intercede for him in front of His Majesty, and was unwilling to cooperate with us."

He Rong seemed to be eating food casually, but his mind was running fast, thinking about the purpose of the prince inviting him here today.

Do you simply want to ask him to come over for advice, or do you hope that you can clearly stand on his side and become a member of the princeling party?

After his father ascended the throne, the brothers inevitably had their own plans. Even a person like Shiro, who is always out of tune and would rather give up the title of prince, is actually a person who is unwilling to succumb to reality and make peace with himself.

If He Xi is like this, let alone others.

On the other side, Yu Xian also said: "At the end of the day, Zhang Shangshu doesn't trust us, and he also feels that His Highness the Crown Prince can't make His Majesty change his mind, and he doesn't want to be suspected of forming a party, which will cause trouble."

Seeing that He Rong didn't intend to speak, the prince couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but he cheered up and said with a smile: "You just came back today, I shouldn't bother you with these things, I just came here to have a meal, see you by the way Ah Xin and your sister-in-law, come, after drinking this glass of wine, you should go back to rest earlier..."

"I have a way," He Rong finally said, "Divide the prime minister's power."

The prince's expression changed: "How to say?"

He Rong: "Liu Shangshu has been in the Ministry of Officials for many years, and he is familiar with the powers and duties of various ministries in the court. He must understand what I mean."

Liu Zhong murmured: "His Highness Wang An means to set up left and right prime ministers?"

He Rong smiled, don't think Liu Zhong can't be the prime minister, he is one of the six ministers anyway, how many of those who can sit in this position are not smart?

Yu Xian was similarly transparent, and couldn't help showing joy on his face: "Yes, one prime minister holds great power, and two prime ministers can check and balance each other. Your Majesty will definitely agree."

Prince: "In this way, Li Kuan will definitely take one of them, and the other, who will His Majesty choose?"

The others all looked at Liu Zhong in unison.

Liu Zhong smiled wryly: "Nine out of ten times, Your Majesty will choose Zhang Song."

The crown prince frowned slightly: "In this case, the left and right prime ministers still don't have us."

"Brother, I'm hot all over, and I'm a bit overwhelmed with alcohol. In order not to be rude, I want to leave first." He Rong put down his glass and said.

The prince smiled and said: "You and my brother, why are you being polite, there are many beds in the East Palace for you to rest, come here, first serve a bowl of hangover soup!"

He Rong said: "After all, this is the East Palace. You and I are brothers, and even more so, I should not be too casual. Those speech officials have always disliked me. If they know that I am staying here with you, they should say that I am proud of myself. Besides, I haven't been back to Prince An's Mansion for a long time, so I want to go back and have a look."

The prince laughed: "Well, I can't say no to you, then I'll send you back in a carriage. Seeing how you are now, you must not be able to ride a horse."

He Rong didn't refuse: "Then thank you, brother."

He got up and saluted, Liu Zhong and others also stood up to see him off, and the crown prince even personally sent him to the door.

"When you are free in the future, come and see Ah Xin more often, and bring him some gadgets outside the palace. He always wants to play outside the palace, but the rules in the palace are so strict, how can he go out when he wants to? It would be better if he knew earlier. We were comfortable in Prince Lu's mansion, at that time our brothers lived in the same mansion, so it was very convenient to visit us." The prince rambled.

Having said that, but if they were really allowed to live in Prince Lu's mansion, how many people would be willing?

There is still a long distance from the East Palace to the gate of the palace. The crown prince is very caring, and even sent a small sedan chair to take He Rong and the others to the gate of the palace, where the carriage had already parked.

As soon as he got into the carriage, He Rong leaned to the side and began to beat his legs.

His legs are more prone to fatigue than ordinary people, and it is inevitable that they will become numb after sitting for a long time.

Seeing Sang Lin rubbing his stomach, He Rong laughed: "Aren't you full?"

Sang Lin went to the banquet with him, the prince did not neglect him, and specially gave Sang Lin a table alone, next to He Rong.

"Fortunately, I just didn't dare to eat more, for fear of being rude." Sang Lin chuckled.

"How do you feel?" He Rong straightened one leg, slightly bent the other, and leaned his back against the car wall, as if he was boneless.

Sang Lin blinked: "What is your Highness asking?"

He Rong: "Impressions of Chang'an, impressions of people, say what comes to mind, and speak freely."

Sang Lin thought for a while, and said: "Chang'an City is beautiful, even more beautiful than I imagined. If Dad and Ayun come, it will definitely open your eyes. Your Majesty... is very kind, approachable, and has no airs , but it was the first time I saw Your Majesty, and I was quite nervous."

He Rong closed his eyes and rested his mind, nonchalantly asked, "Where are Duke Heng and the crown prince?"

Sang Lin said distressedly, "I can't tell."

He Rong: "Why can't you tell?"

Sang Lin: "The words you said seem to have taken several detours. I can't quite understand them. Do all the people in the Central Plains speak like this?"

He Rong smiled: "That's not true, it's only for certain people. It's too clear, and it's easy to fall into the trap, and it's rude."

Sang Lin scratched his head: "But my brain is about to be tied up when I hear it, but it's really too difficult to understand, just like the prince's attitude towards you just now..."

He Rong still closed his eyes slightly, and only hummed from his nasal cavity, motioning for him to continue.

Sang Lin showed an uncertain expression: "The prince seems to really want to keep you?"

He Rong opened his eyes: "My elder brother is eager to get me into the gang."

In the East Palace, the unfinished banquet was still going on.

The prince looked at the empty seat where He Rong had sat just now, with a thoughtful face.

Yu Xiandao: "His Royal Highness Wang An doesn't seem to want to be with us?"

The prince said: "He always hoped that Erlang and I could get along peacefully, but he didn't understand that Erlang was no longer the Erlang he used to be. Your Majesty bestowed a marriage on Erlang and Li's daughter, and clearly pushed Li Kuan to Erlang. Erlang had always had a crush on me. Heart knot, with Li Kuan backing me up, I am afraid that disputes will be inevitable in the future."

Liu Zhongdao: "Your Highness, since this is the case, as King An said, giving Zhang Song an aspect is a good choice."

Jiang Yue interjected: "Since King An can help His Highness the Crown Prince with ideas, it is naturally possible to help His Highness Prince Ji with ideas. Your Highness must prevent King An from defecting."

The prince hesitated and said, "Probably not. He has always suspected that Li Kuan was related to the death of his biological mother. Erlang and Li Kuan are getting married soon. How could he help Erlang?"

Jiang Yue strikes while the iron is hot: "Don't be afraid of [-], just in case. Instead of leaving a room for Wang An to be vacillating, it is better to force him to express his position and stand on our side. After all, King Ji and King Xing have the same mother, and the latter is still alive today. Lingnan Commander, Your Highness must also have someone to help him."

The prince frowned slightly.

The author has something to say:

He Rong: If you are too capable, you will be cheated. What kind of grudge?Damn, I'm going to bully Goro.

He Zhan:? ? ?What hatred and what resentment?It's not my business?