Song Emperor Jiangshan

Today, Zhao Yuan has become the emperor, but there is no queen by his side.

After the day's grand ceremony was over, it was already dusk, many officials had already dispersed and went home, and a few were left behind by Zhao Yuan.

Chen Junqing and Shi Hao, who were born as instructors in the royal family and now hold important positions in the court, are naturally the ones to stay. Yu Yunwen has been doing well in official career since the imperial examination high school, and now he is Yushi Zhongcheng, and he is also left behind. There is also a rather young An official named Long Dayuan whom he was not very familiar with was also retained, and the prime minister Chen Kangbo was also there.Xiao Shan looked at the few people around him, and found that he was the only general left behind.

These people are the main people who support Zhao Yuan's rise to power, and most of them advocate the use of soldiers against Jin. Except for Shi Hao, none of them is over 40 years old. In this situation, it is obvious that the emperor has something to discuss with everyone, maybe it is some important event , but Yang Cunzhong, who holds the military power in the capital, is not here, but himself. Is this arrangement a little inappropriate?

When Xiao Shan was muttering silently in his heart, Zhao Yuan had already changed into his normal clothes and came out.

He was wearing a brown tuanlong robe, and he was wearing black leather boots. The front of the boots were turned up, hooking the hem of his robe so that it would not sway around with his steps.There is no crown on the head, but a yellow gold belt is used to tie up the hair, which looks very simple.

Xiao Shan also noticed that on the desk in the Chongzheng Hall, the white jade paperweight and silver incense burner that Zhao Gou usually liked were gone, and the vase with the picture of a beautiful woman with a round fan beside the desk was also missing.The lack of these things in the palace made the dilapidated palace look a bit simple.

After Zhao Yuan walked over, he sat down on the right seat, and after everyone saluted Zhao Yuan, Zhao Yuan said: "I ordered you to come here today to finish Yan Liang's affairs. The desire to go south is not dead, it is better to take precautions as soon as possible. Xiao Qing once fought against Wan Yanliang in Xiangyang, so he was invited to listen in."

Xiao Shan already knew that with his current qualifications, he could not participate in the discussions of these chief civil servants in the court.

Zhao Yuan continued: "I have just ascended the throne, and I am still young. I am afraid that I will not act properly. There are many things in my mind. I would like to hear your opinions."

Shi Hao spoke first. He is the most senior civil servant around Zhao Yuan. He is the oldest when Zhao Yuan is enthroned. After hearing Zhao Yuan's words, he said: "I think that when your majesty ascends the throne, you should first cultivate your moral character. If the king is upright, the country will be peaceful. Now that the Taishangguan’s family is staying in Linde Palace, Your Majesty should put filial piety first, go to greet him regularly, and set an example for the people of the world.”

Zhao Yuan nodded, expressing that he accepts opinions with an open mind.

Chen Junqing followed suit and said, "The Jin people are nothing to be afraid of. Your Majesty should strengthen the defense line along the Yangtze River and order the soldiers to train so that they are prepared."

Zhao Yuan also expressed that he humbly accepted this opinion, and the rest of the people said a lot, but it was nothing more than self-cultivation, gentle shaking and lightening of burdens, without any specific measures or proposals.

Only Yu Yunwen said: "I haven't been able to think about it for a while, and I will make a list later."

Xiao Shan didn't open his mouth all the time, watching other people talking, the newly appeared Long Dayuan had a handsome appearance and a slender figure, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty has ascended the throne, you should choose a day to add relatives and King Xiu, as well as the title of Empress."

Xiao Shan was secretly pondering whether he should recruit the artisans from the Weapons Supervision in the capital to mass-produce new weapons, mine the mineral deposits in the country, and build medical and logistics teams to keep up.

When he was thinking with his head down, he heard Zhao Yuan say: "Everyone is tired today, let's discuss it at court tomorrow."

After everyone saluted Zhao Yuan, they filed out, Xiao Shan had just taken two steps when Zhao Yuan stopped him: "Xiao Qing's family stay, I want to ask you something."

Xiao Shan then stopped and bowed to Zhao Yuan.

Zhao Yuan looked at him for a while and asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

Xiao Shan really wanted to say a few private words to Zhao Yuan, but when he raised his head, he saw that there was still a royal servant waiting in the hall, and the living servants were also taking notes with pens, eunuchs and maids standing on both sides, leaving alone Talk, and it's not really just two people.

Xiao Shan remembered how difficult it was to see Zhao Gou alone when Zhao Yuan was the prince.

Every move of the emperor, even eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom, must be recorded as the original data of national history.In this case, an insurmountable gap between the monarch and his subjects clearly lay between the two.

Xiao Shan didn't dare to be rude, and said: "I intend to return to Xinyang after the matter in the capital is over. Zhang Xiaoxiang, the prefect of Xinyang, also wrote a letter to tell me to go back as soon as possible."

Zhao Yuan's expression looked a little melancholy, and after a while he said: "Where did Wan Yanliang suffer twice in the area of ​​Xinyang, and the defense is strong, he might not know where to strike, I want to transfer you to Huaixi, what do you think? How about it?"

Xiao Shan was slightly taken aback. He was in Huaixi before, and he managed to train a team that could be pulled out, but he was transferred away.Now in Xinyang, it takes a lot of effort, the soldiers will be familiar with each other, and they will be transferred again.

Xiao Shan also knew that this was the imperial court's practice of separating soldiers and generals in order to prevent generals from gaining power, but this method of mobilization was really not conducive to building a strong army that could be commanded at will.

Xiao Shan found that if he opened his mouth, he would say something that he should not have said at all, and it would be recorded by the householders or the censors in the palace, and it would be troublesome if it was passed on to the adults of the Privy Council, so he said: "Mr. Zun Purpose."

Zhao Yuan looked at Xiao Shan and opened his mouth several times, but in the end he didn't say anything, just said: "Well, there's nothing else to do, you can go down."

Xiao Shan resigned and left, Zhao Yuan also took a bath and changed clothes, and returned to his bedroom to rest.

The bedroom was the place where Zhao Gou lived before. Most of the decorations and furnishings have been taken away by Zhao Gou, except for some things reserved for the emperor. The eunuch stepped forward and asked, "Which empress is your Majesty going to stay with today?" Rest?"

Zhao Yuan began to think carefully about the women in his harem. The Xia family given by Empress Dowager Wei earlier was seriously ill, and the rest...there are no others.

Zhao Yuan shook his head, and lay alone on the large dragon bed. The beds were newly made and tidied up, very soft. Although it was a summer night, it wasn't too hot. It should be a very comfortable place, but I don't know why. , he tossed and turned but couldn't fall asleep.

In the middle of the night, Zhao Yuan sat up and realized that he really wanted to see Xiao Shan.But it is obviously not possible to order him to enter the palace in the middle of the night, even if he is ordered to enter the palace, he can only say a few innocuous words under the crowd's watch.

He put on his clothes and walked out of the hall. Outside the hall was a sky full of stars, and a scarlet palace wall separated him from the outside world.

For three consecutive days, Zhao Yuan rested alone, and on the fourth day, Empress Wu, who had been promoted to empress dowager, finally learned the news from the eunuchs—the emperor lacked concubines and slept alone every night, making it difficult to fall asleep.

That morning, Zhao Yuan went to visit Zhao Gou, and after having breakfast with Zhao Gou, he watched Zhao Gou Xinna's singing and dancing of beauties.Empress Wu took the opportunity to say: "The emperor's harem only has one concubine, which is too outrageous. It was nothing to be a prince in the past, but now it is still a joke to be an emperor."

Zhao Gou waved his hand: "Yuan Yuan, just pick whoever you like, and I will give you some beautiful ones."

Zhao Yuan had no choice but to say: "My son is new to Dabao, so I don't have the heart to think about these things, let's talk about it later."

Zhao Gou was a little surprised by his son's answer, and persuaded him: "When the old man was still in Jiangbei, the Jin people were in turmoil, and there were three or four wives around him. Being an official not only has to worry about state affairs, but also has to continue the heirs. The queen Who do you plan to establish? This matter cannot be delayed!"

Zhao Yuan talked about it from left to right: "Xiao Shan..."

Zhao Gou stared at Zhao Yuan with a surprised expression.Zhao Yuan went on to say: "Xiao Shan used to have a residence in the capital, but later because of Qin Hui's chaos, he had no place to live. My son is thinking, he has made great achievements in Xiangyang, should he be rewarded with a house in the capital for the sake of It expresses the imperial court's appreciation to the meritorious officials."

Empress Dowager Wu pursed her lips and said with a smile: "It's good for officials to be concerned about national affairs, but it's fine to leave this kind of matter to the officials of the Ministry of Rites to arrange. Since you don't like Xia Shi, she is sick now and has been with you for so many years. I haven't seen any joy, and I'm afraid it won't happen in the future. I heard that a maid named Xie Yi in your mansion was very popular with you. The Ai family has met her several times. She is decent and feminine. If the official family doesn't If you like her, you can find someone else. This matter can't be delayed any longer, the emperor ascends the throne but there is no queen, it doesn't look like that."

Zhao Yuan really didn't want to continue talking about this topic, so he immediately changed the topic. When he came out of Linde Palace, Empress Dowager Wu forced Zhao Yuan to have two capable maids beside her.

Zhao Yuan originally thought that when he went to court in the next few days, he would be able to discuss how to deal with the Jin people, but all the ministers agreed that the empress's affairs were the most important thing at present, and all other matters had to be left behind.

Zhao Yuan was a little annoyed, so he asked the officials of the household department to count the treasury, and then went to check the historical expenditures, and found that almost nine out of ten of the taxes these years had been used as military expenses, especially because of Wan Yanliang's harassment in recent years There is a deficit.

Zhao Yuan couldn't help but sighed: "Nowadays the literati and bureaucrats are mostly talkative, and they are not ashamed to deal with ordinary affairs. If this continues, it will definitely not be a blessing for the country."

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard a pass from the eunuch saying that it was Xiao Shan who asked to see him.

Zhao Yuan looked up at the sky, it was almost dusk, but he didn't know what Xiao Shan was doing at this time.But it's better to see him than never to see him.

Xiao Shan came with Yu Yunwen, which made Zhao Yuan a little surprised. After a few days, Yu Yunwen finally expressed his thoughts to Zhao Yuan, and proposed ten urgent matters of current state affairs.

The first is to find ways to increase fiscal revenue, increase income and reduce expenditure.

The second item is to broaden Enke and select talents.

Next, there are contents such as strengthening armaments, preventing side affairs, etc., which are written in more detail, and even the improvement of the imperial court sergeant-bureaucrats is easy to talk about, and there are things that do not do practical things. Zhao Yuan nodded and discussed with Yu Yunwen to midnight.

Xiao Shan has been waiting in the outer hall. He didn't eat when he came. He thought Zhao Yuan would see him first, but he didn't expect to talk to Yu Yunwen for a long time. Yu Yunwen didn't come out until it was completely dark, and let Xiao Shan in. .

When Xiao Shan entered, Zhao Yuan was flipping through the memorials of Yu Yunwen and other ministers, looking very serious, Xiao Shan coughed lightly, Zhao Yuan suddenly raised his head, but did not speak.

After a while, Zhao Yuan said: "Has Xiao Qing eaten dinner?"

Xiao Shan felt that it was not good for him to come here to beg for food, so he said, "I have eaten."

Zhao Yuan struggled for a while, and then said: "I haven't eaten yet, I've been busy for a long time, and I'm a little hungry, let Xiao Qing eat some with me."

Sheren, who was recording the notes on daily life, quickly took out his pen and recorded: Shang gave a banquet to Zhongwu General Xiao Shan.

After Zhao Yuan finished speaking, he stood up and walked out, Xiao Shan followed beside him, the two of them walked in the front, the eunuchs and maids followed about five meters away.

From Zhao Yuan's accession to the throne until now, the two had a chance to talk alone, but for a while they didn't know what to say.It was Zhao Yuan who spoke first, and said: "I am newly enthroned, my previous name is not suitable, I want to choose a new name, what would you like to call it?"

Without even thinking about it, Xiao Shan said, "The previous name was pretty good, why do you suddenly want to change it to a new one?"

Zhao Yuan looked at Xiao Shan for a while, but didn't answer his question, just said to himself: "When I was in the East Palace, the Supreme Emperor bestowed the name Wei, which means rare and precious jade, but I don't want to be a beautiful jade. After ascending the throne, I checked the state treasury and came into contact with some things that I hadn’t touched before. I just feel that every step I take now must be cautious, and a slight deviation will cause chaos in the country. How about the word Shen?”

Xiao Shan suddenly remembered that the word Zhao Wei was the alias he gave Zhao Yuan when he went to Xuancheng to quell the chaos. He said, "Why did you change it to this name?"

After a while, Zhao Yuan stopped and said, "I miss that time very much."

Xiao Shan turned his head and looked at Zhao Yuan, Zhao Yuan's gaze stayed on the lotus in the pond in the distance, his face was dimly reflected by the lights in the distance, Xiao Shan really wanted to reach out to hold Zhao Yuan in his arms, and even more wanted to kiss He, but five steps away was a group of eunuchs and maids carrying lanterns.

Xiao Shan said: "I... also miss you very much."

Zhao Yuan did not continue on this topic, he walked for a while, and came to the flower hall, where the food was being arranged, Zhao Yuan asked: "After you leave Xinyang, who will take over, have you decided?"

Xiao Shan said: "Wu Luan, he has been with me for many years, so I feel more at ease with him." Zhao Yuan nodded, noncommittal, and after a while said: "They all persuade me to make a queen, but I don't know who to turn to. No matter which woman it is, it will eventually fail her."

Xiao Shan also knew that in the past few days, this incident was the most troublesome one. When he thought that it would be someone else who slept with Zhao Yuan all day long, he couldn't stop the jealousy in his heart.

Seeing that Xiao Shan was silent, Zhao Yuan suddenly asked, "Who do you like?"

Xiao Shan didn't even think about it, and said: "I like you." His voice was a little loud, and he was heard by the living room people at the side, so there was an extra sentence in the daily note: I had a long conversation with Zhongwu General Xiao Shan, and Shan's words were quite rude, Forgive me for my meritorious deeds.

Zhao Yuan was stunned for a long while, unable to speak, his hands in the sleeves trembled slightly, and he became calm the most, just said: "I'm hungry, let's eat something together."

The two sat down at the table in the flower hall, and Xiao Shan noticed that there were not many dishes, only four dishes, which were very different from the delicacies of mountains and seas that Zhao Gou usually ate.

He had been hungry for a long time, now when he saw there was something to eat, he devoured it regardless of his left and right sides, Zhao Yuan just moved his chopsticks slightly and then put it down, and the maids at the side continued to add more food to Xiao Shan, to make sure he was full.

After eating, Xiao Shan wanted to talk about serious business, but Zhao Yuan pulled him around again, and then returned to the Chongzheng Hall, assuming that he was going to talk at night while holding candles, Xiao Shan took out the thick letter he had written from his bosom. Zhao Yuan didn't look at Zhezhezi, but said: "It seems that Xiao Qing has a lot to say, it's getting late today, so let's stay in the palace and talk about it in detail."

When he said this, he saw that the living room was recording again, so he stood up, turned around in the hall, glanced at what the living room had written, and saw that there was an additional article on it: Overnight, foreign minister Zhongwu General Xiao Shan.

Zhao Yuan sighed in his heart, and changed his words: "It's getting late, it's inconvenient for foreign ministers to stay in the palace, you should go back first, Zhe Zizhen will read it carefully, and we will discuss it in detail tomorrow."

Xiao Shan had no choice but to get up, saluted Zhao Yuan, and then walked outside. After taking two steps, he saw the maid Xie Yi rushing over, and smiled at himself: "General Xiao, it's late now, the main gate has been closed, Your Majesty let me The servant leads the general out through the side door."

Xiao Shan followed behind Xie Yi, Xie Yi took two steps, then turned around and smiled and said: "The general's concubine is quite strong, when he was in the palace in the past, His Majesty often talked about the general, now it is even more unusual."

Xiao Shan laughed awkwardly, but did not answer, Xie Yi led Xiao Shan to the side door, and said with a smile: "The slaves can only be sent here, please forgive me, General."

Xiao Shan nodded and turned around to leave. When he left the palace, he saw that the vermilion side door was gradually closing, completely isolating him from the outside.Xiao Shan looked up at the sky, there was a bright moon in the sky, he wondered if this moon could also shine on Zhao Yuan's heart.

When Zhao Yuan returned to the palace, he changed his clothes, and after lying down, he opened the booklet written by Xiao Shan. It was a thick stack, and the catalog was marked on it. There were about 20 suggestions written in the catalog. Those who were mobilized, those who improved weapons, those who trained soldiers, those who asked for the establishment of a logistics army, and those who called doctors from all over the world to train and treat traumatic injuries.

The handwriting was still not very good, but it was neat and clear without any trace of smearing. Zhao Yuan lifted it to his chest and opened it casually, but unexpectedly a jade yuan fell out of it, and it was falling on his heart.The workmanship of the jade yuan is a bit rough, and the quality of the jade is not very good, so it is not something expensive.Zhao Yuan held it in his palm, feeling a little cold.

He lowered Yu Yuan under the lamp to examine it carefully, and found that there was a small character engraved on the inner wall that was almost invisible: Yuan.

This character is exactly the same as the handwriting written by Xiao Shan, the knife technique is unfamiliar, it was carved by himself.

Zhao Yuan's thoughts moved slightly, he got up and found a red rope, passed it through the ring in the middle of Yu Yuan, tied it in a knot, and hung it on his chest.This thing was originally used as an accessory, and when it was hung on the chest, the protruding edge became a little annoying, but for some reason, Zhao Yuan felt that with this thing at night, he would no longer be lonely.

Zhao Yuan woke up in the middle of the night, and found that the surroundings were very empty, surrounded by heavy curtains, isolating him in a separate space, in the darkness, Zhao Yuan suddenly found that he had only deeply understood one thing until today.

In the past, he only knew intellectually that once he fell into this kind of relationship, his future life would become a torment.But now, he tasted it from the bottom of his heart.

He couldn't fall asleep any more, so he got up with his clothes on, and Gan Min, the eunuch on duty at night, followed behind him with a lantern.

Zhao Yuan walked casually, turned around in the harem, and when he came to a simple side room, he suddenly heard a low moan coming from inside, it was the sound of a woman having sex with someone.

Zhao Yuan stopped in his tracks, hesitant to go in, but Gan Min who was at the side didn't hesitate, kicked open the door, rushed into the room, and shouted sharply: "Who is it? You are so brave, you dare to come in Do something like this in the palace!"

A woman's crying and begging came from inside, Zhao Yuan heard the voice familiar, and walked in, Gan Min lifted the lantern to the woman's face, and a familiar face was reflected.

It was none other than Xie Yi kneeling on the ground and shivering, her upper body was naked, her hair was a little disheveled, and tears kept dripping from her eyes.

Zhao Yuan found himself bumping into such a thing, and he didn't feel very angry in his heart, he just asked calmly, "Who is the other one?"

Xie Yi knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Zhao Yuan non-stop: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, Your Majesty is merciful, and this servant will not dare again."

Zhao Yuan just said: "Outside guards should not stay in the harem now, they should be punished according to the law."

Xie Yi just begged bitterly, but Gan Min didn't care so much, stepped forward, pulled out another person who was hiding under the quilt, and dragged him to Zhao Yuan.

However, when Zhao Yuan saw the body of the "adulterate man", he couldn't help being stunned. It was not an adulterer, but a woman.