Linzhi

Just when He Zhan was considering whether to write a letter to the third brother, He Rong, who was far away in the capital, was walking towards the Xuanzheng Hall, preparing to participate in the court meeting.

Different from the Great Court Meeting where hundreds of officials gather, this is a small-scale summoning, usually only about ten people, and the participants are all important ministers trusted by the emperor, usually including the prime minister, six ministers, and several princes.

He Rong came early, and did not make an appointment with others. In the huge square, he walked alone, with long sleeves fluttering, and the palace guards and servants were all far away, and he couldn't even see his face clearly. The illusion of being alone.

The world is boundless, the mountains and rivers are not old, only people's hearts will change from generation to generation.

Halfway up the high steps, He Rong stopped and looked back, but saw the end of the eaves, the sky was blue, the eagle swept a white mark, and the void was split open, and the lead line fell straight into He Rong's heart from the sky, silently Invite him to reach out and grab it, take advantage of the opportunity to fly above the sky, stand in the clouds, and overlook everything in the world.

"Sanlang." The voice came from behind, interrupting his wandering.

He Rong looked back and saw the prince stepping out of the hall.

"Why don't you go in, who are you waiting for here?" the prince asked suspiciously.

He Rong: "There was an eagle flying over my head just now. It's very beautiful. I just watched it for a while."

The prince laughed helplessly: "How old are you, why are you still acting like a child!"

He patted He Rong on the shoulder and pulled the distance between them closer.

"I haven't thanked you for what happened last time. Two days ago, I had already inquired about Zhang Shangshu in private. He originally thought that his phase was easy to capture, but who knew that Li Kuan was killed halfway, and His Majesty is about to hand over the phase. To Li Kuan, Zhang Song was in a hurry and expressed his agreement to my proposal, when I propose the separation of powers for the prime minister in front of the imperial court, he will also fully agree with it, so that there will be little resistance from His Majesty."

He Rong cupped his hands and said, "Then I will congratulate you in advance."

The prince smiled and said: "Congratulations, if you hadn't mentioned this method, now Zhang Song and I might have turned against each other for the position of prime minister, so we should all thank you."

He Rong: "I don't dare to be the prime minister. The prime minister is alone, and His Majesty doesn't take much care of things. The power is easy to fall apart. I also want to balance the court, so as not to cause disturbances on the ground."

The prince smiled unabated: "Brother understands your painstaking efforts. Everyone is for the sake of the country and the community, and the common heart is there, but they have different positions. Sometimes it is reasonable to seek common ground while reserving differences, and to make concessions."

After finishing speaking, he paused for a moment and lowered his voice: "Later, no matter what happens, you have to trust me, brother will not harm you."

He Rong thought about it, but before he could ask any more questions, the prince quickly let go of his hand, stood up straight, and smiled behind him.

"Jiro!"

Behind them, He Xiu walked up the steps step by step. After experiencing the battlefield, all the vigor and arrogance in him had settled down. He looked a lot more stable, but the hearty smile he used to have also no longer existed.

"His Royal Highness." He Xiu cupped his hands in salute.

"Second brother." He Rong also greeted him.

He Xiu nodded: "I heard from the steward that you went to my place two days ago, and I happened to be away from the mansion, so you missed it. If the court meeting ends early today, you can go to my mansion for dinner."

He Rong: "Alright, then let's bother the second brother."

The prince smiled and said, "Does the listener have a share?"

He Xiu: "If His Highness the Crown Prince is interested, you are naturally welcome."

Prince: "Okay, don't talk about one prince, I hear my teeth hurt, it's fine if others call you that, you are my younger brother, and you will still be called big brother in the future!"

He took the two people's arms and wanted to pull them in, but He Rong and He Xiu both took half a step back.

"Prince please first!"

"Courtesy cannot be discarded, elder brother please first."

The prince had no choice but to step in first.

After the three brothers, officials from various ministries also arrived one after another. In addition, there were also British Duke Lu Yun and Heng Guogong Li Kuan.

The British public family is not considered a family in Beijing, but it represents a part of the heroes who followed the emperor Gaozu to found the country. Emperor Jiayou's second queen came from the British public house. He Xiu's first wife, the little Lu family, was the British public Lu Yun daughter.

After Xiao Lu's death, although he did not leave any heirs, Lu Yun was grateful for the deep love between his daughter and his son-in-law, and he never stopped contacting He Xiu. The relationship between Weng and his son-in-law was very good.

Li Kuan and Lu Yun entered side by side, chatting and laughing, he didn't need to lead troops for a while, and he didn't have a real job, he was in good spirits, his five long beards fluttered like immortals, if he changed his clothes, he would hold a whisk It is said that Taoist priests who have practiced for many years also believe it.

Although the rumors of worshiping the prime minister were rampant, Li Kuan did not look over his head because of this, he still had a gentle smile on his face, greeted everyone with salutes, and treated the prince and He Rong with respect, without any trace of disrespect.

Rao He Rong, who has preconceived impressions and prejudices against him, has to admit that the other party's behavior is impeccable, but he himself is suspicious because of a little suspicion, picks and chooses, and still refuses to accept it. Let it go.

No matter how you look at it, it's me who is more like the unlovable one, He Rong thought.

Everyone waited for a long time before Emperor Jiayou yawned and came late.

Zhang Song is old, his eyesight is not blurry, and he is sitting close to him. Seeing this, he said: "Your Majesty sleeps all day long and takes care of everything. Please take care of the dragon's body."

Emperor Jiayou coughed lightly, a little embarrassed, he did stay up late last night, but it wasn't because of reviewing the memorial.

"What are you going to discuss today?" Emperor Jiayou asked.

The prince reminded: "New phase."

"That's right!" Emperor Jiayou tapped his head, "Let's all discuss the candidate for the new prime minister."

No one spoke first, Emperor Jiayou looked around, and had to start by himself: "Zhou Xiang has gone through three dynasties, and has made outstanding achievements. In the imperial court, Yu Xiandi, Yu Zhen, Zhushi's dynasty, and Yarrow's contemporary. One arm, but the six officials in the court must have a virtuous leader, and I must have a virtuous assistant. Li Kuan, the Duke of Heng, once retreated from the enemy on the battlefield, won three battles and won three, and was both wise and brave. To protect me in times of crisis, to turn the tide, to help the country in the future, can be described as both civil and military, loyal and brave, and I want to worship him as a prime minister, what do you think?"

Fan Yi, Minister of the Ministry of War, cupped his hands and said: "Hengguo's public morality spreads far and wide, and the ministers have no doubts. It's just that the prime minister serves the emperor and leads the ministers. The Prime Minister is familiar with the details of government affairs, so he will not take office rashly and be at a loss what to do. Duke Heng has never served in the six ministries, and the minister is worried..."

Emperor Jiayou waved his hand: "Don't worry about Fan Laoshangshu. According to this, no one has ever been a prime minister. Wouldn't they all have to take turns to be a prime minister before knowing who is more suitable? As long as you are virtuous and talented and united as one, Why worry about everything not being done? In my opinion, the shortcomings you think are not the strengths of Heng Guogong. Because he has not served in the six departments, he can be eclectic. Now the court is depressed. What is lacking is the right It's exuberant."

It seemed that the emperor was determined to make Li Kuan his chancellor, Fan Yi's heart sank and he stopped talking.

The prince said in a timely manner: "I think that in the past, under the emperor, one person was the prime minister, and he was in charge of all things. The nine states of the world, there was no one who would not bother the prime minister. Over time, it would be exhausting and exhausting. Died while in office, it can be seen that the suffering of the prime minister cannot be endured by one person."

Emperor Jiayou yawned again. He couldn't hear the main point for a long time, and he was a little bit lacking in interest. However, when he spoke in court, everyone was like this, so he had to go around in a big circle. Besides, the words were said by the prince, so the face he should give is still To give, so he resisted the urge to interrupt.

After finally waiting for the other party to pause, Emperor Jiayou couldn't wait to interject: "So, the prince has a better idea?"

This is what the crown prince was waiting for, and he didn't hesitate after hearing the words: "The minister thinks that we can follow the example of the Qi and Qin countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, and set up the left and right prime ministers. If Zhou Xiang is unable to go to the court to discuss matters due to illness, another person can temporarily act as an errand, so that the phase will not be vacant like now."

Emperor Jiayou's eyes lit up, and he subconsciously felt that this was a good idea.

After becoming the emperor, he seems to have inherited the sensitivity of the king himself. The prime minister has all the power. If he has evil intentions, he can deceive his superiors and hide his inferiors. Good old people like Zhou Xiang are fine, but not everyone is Zhou. Ying, so limiting the power of the prime minister has become a problem that the emperor must consider.

But Emperor Jiayou didn't express his opinion immediately, which made him seem too impatient.

He groaned and stroked his beard: "What do you Aiqing think?"

Zhang Song, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, said: "The minister thinks that what the prince said is not without merit. The right and left of the prime minister is not only a separation of powers, but also a supervision. After being bedridden and unable to take care of things, the documents sent by the household department to the prime minister's mansion piled up like a mountain. Afterwards, there was no one to deal with them. "

Emperor Jiayou nodded: "Yes, I also remember this matter, if there are two prime ministers on the left and right, it will be more convenient in the future."

The crown prince looked at Li Kuan without any trace, the latter was listening carefully to Zhang Song's words, nodding his head from time to time, obviously agreeing, without any shock or reluctance.Seeing this, the prince couldn't help feeling a little suspicious, wondering if Li Kuan had any other tricks?

"Your Majesty," said the British Duke Lu Yun, who straightened his body and cupped his hands, "I agree with what the crown prince and Zhang Shangshu said just now, but there is only one thing that I don't understand. After the establishment of the left and right prime ministers, there must be an idea." Is it the second one? Or is it that the two phases are evenly divided, equal?"

The prince was about to speak, but he heard Emperor Jiayou say: "That's right, in this court, the right is the most respected, the right is the main minister, and the left is the second."

"Your Majesty, Duke Heng Li Kuan has both talents and virtues, and I have the courage to recommend him as the right minister!" He Xiu, who had been silent all this time, said suddenly.

Fan Yi: "His Royal Highness Prince Ji, you are about to marry the eldest daughter of Duke Heng as your concubine. It stands to reason that this matter should be avoided."

He Xiu said indifferently: "Before I came here today, no one told me to avoid suspicion. If I had said it earlier, I would definitely not have stepped into the gate of Xuanzheng Hall. Besides, I don't want to avoid relatives when I am a virtuous person. Since Li Kuan was recommended in a public mind, you can naturally refute me out of a public mind, and discuss each other's facts, my actions are upright, and the sun and the moon can learn from each other."

But Li Kuan got up suddenly, walked to the center, paused his head and said: "Thank you, King Ji, for your wrong love, and thank you for your kindness. I think I have little talent and virtue. Just now, Fan Laoshangshu was right. I have never served in the six departments. I am not familiar with it." The personnel of the six ministries hastily paid homage to the prime minister, lest they would be negligent and make mistakes. At that time, the personal punishment will be small, and if they delay the state affairs, they will die, and please learn from your majesty!"

The more he refused, the more sorry Emperor Jiayou felt.

Li Kuan made great achievements earlier, Emperor Jiayou always wanted to find an opportunity to reward him, but the Crown Prince and King An stopped him, now Li Kuan has lost the commander of the Nanya, and he has no troops in his hands. Emperor Jiayou wanted to worship him as a chancellor , Zhang Song and others also opposed it openly and secretly, which made Emperor Jiayou very annoyed. Now that the crown prince proposed the method of separating the left and right prime ministers, Emperor Jiayou suddenly felt that this was a good way. Let them stop jumping, but also satisfy their wishes, it can be said to be the best of both worlds.

So when Li Kuan finished speaking, Emperor Jiayou immediately said: "Mr. Heng is doing his part, so there is no need to refuse. I think that Zhang Shangshu has been in the household department for many years and has made outstanding achievements. He can be the minister of the left and the minister of the right. It must be Duke Heng!"

The prince frowned.

He originally wanted Liu Zhong, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, to be the prime minister, but after He Rong's analysis, the prince also knew very well that Liu Zhong's qualifications were shallow and he was not from a family. Cooperation, expressing willingness to promote Zhang Song to the phase, in exchange, the crown prince wants to promote a group of officials from poor families to stand in the court, Zhang Song and the others will not object.

But everyone had previously agreed that even if the prime minister had a primary and secondary position, Zhang Song should be in charge and Li Kuan should be in charge.

As a result, the emperor interrupted, and things changed. The positions of the two were switched, and Li Kuan became the prime minister, and Zhang Song was the deputy prime minister.