Surrounded by strong ministers

On the eve of dawn, the magnificent and majestic capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty stood majestically in the misty world. The city walls built of huge stones stood tall, and the dark stone walls were like the most loyal and reliable guards, enclosing the imperial capital as solid as gold.

In the city, the criss-crossing streets and shadowy tall buildings are hidden in the misty clouds, peaceful and safe.

Gyeonggi has accumulated a hundred years of prosperity and prosperity, and everything is quiet.

The sky is white, and the morning sun is just emerging. In the faint morning light, the majestic imperial palace shows layers of cornices and high ridges.The palace is dense and extremely solemn.

The first chime of the bell came, low and deep, resounding throughout the nine palaces.The hundreds of officials who had been waiting outside the Xuanwu Gate adjusted their appearances, followed Prime Minister Wen Ting, and entered the palace gate in an orderly manner.

"Upon—"

After a summons, all civil and military officials standing outside the Daming Hall listened to Xuan and entered the hall, lined up on both sides of the Golden Hall, bowed their heads and knelt on the ground, shouting long live.

On the wide throne, Xiao Zong leaned on the golden dragon armrest, looking down at the kneeling courtiers.The emperor's seat was high above him, he glanced slightly, his pupils showed a coldness and indifference, and the calmness of the handsome dragon face exuded the dignity that the superior should not offend.

"Pingshen." Xiao Zong said casually.

All the ministers got up, Tai Fu Han Su raised his head slightly in the class of public ministers, and frowned involuntarily when he saw the emperor on the emperor's throne.

At this moment Xiao Zong was leaning on the armrest of the dragon chair as if some bone in his body was loose, with a pale face, full of laziness.

Han Su, in the eyes of everyone, from his bones to his skin, from his temples to his robes, showed the elegance and politeness that a scholar should have in every way.Taifu Han, a gentle man, always abides by etiquette, so naturally he can't understand such a dignified appearance of the emperor.

He stared at Xiao Zong for a long time, but the person on the throne didn't respond at all, he squinted his eyes again, and after a while, he concluded that the emperor was distracted again.A smoldering fire rushed to my heart, and I couldn't suppress it.

He couldn't remember how many times he had been admonished—you must be dignified, imposing, concentrate, and speak with force...the most important thing is not to be limp in court!

Han Su thought again of the emperor's warm and moist voice of "flat body" just now, and the smoldering fire in his heart suddenly rose even higher. He thought to himself, just throw away the relationship between monarch and minister and drag him off the throne to give him two whips to relieve his hatred.

Insufficient majesty, lack of domineering, meek temper, aptitude... mediocre...

Han Su stared at Xiao Zong, turned from staring to dazed, and sighed secretly, how could there be such a new emperor who couldn't support the wall?

Twitching the corners of his eyes, Han Susiwen's face was extremely sullen, and he saw that the Minister of the Ministry of Officials was about to return to his position after the report. He wanted to give a lecture in the Golden Palace and talk about how to write the emperor's majesty.

Before he had time to lift his feet and step out of the train, Prime Minister Wen Ting stood in the center of the palace one step ahead of him.

Han Su was a little surprised.

Wen Ting has always been good at showing off, especially in this Daming Hall.In the early court, he would never make a sound first, and he certainly would not remain silent. He would wait until all the civil and military performances in the hall were finished, and then pace out to say a few words.When the prime minister spoke, it might be a major matter of people's livelihood, or it might be a trivial matter, but it must be the finale. He closed his mouth, and everyone knew that it was time to retreat.If anyone in the hall suddenly remembered that there was something to play, they would basically wait until the next day.

Han Su once wanted to break this "rule" that he found very unpleasant, so he fought against Wen Ting several times.Not all the hundreds of people in the main hall were sincerely obedient to the prime minister. Seeing that the high-ranking Tai Tuo wanted to discourage the prime minister, they fanned the flames along the way.For a while, the court was fighting with each other, and Han Su wished he could turn his words into knives and stab Wen Ting to death directly.Wen Ting wished that his eyes were swords, and cut Han Su with one sword.

The situation lasted for a while, and one day after the imperial court was over, the servant Xiao Zong ordered Han Su to be brought into the imperial study.Xiao Zong told him that there was too much noise in the hall, let him rest.

Hearing that, Han Su was choked, and was so angry that he wanted to tremble all over. He dared to think that his righteous deed of not being afraid of lust and charging into the battle was hindering the purity of the emperor, so let's get a heartless rest.

Han Su's heart was really complicated.

Looking coldly at Wen Tingang standing upright, holding the wat board in his hand, and bowing slightly to Xiao Zong who was sitting on the throne, Han Su felt depressed and simply turned his head to look elsewhere.

At this time, Wen Ting was standing in the center of the hall and had already set up the score, he cupped his hands and said to Xiao Zong: "Your Majesty, I have this performance."

Xiao Zong seemed to be brought back to his soul by this loud call, he gathered himself together, his indifferent expression retracted, he straightened up, he seemed to be no longer distracted at last, he said: "Mr. Wen, what is the matter?" His eyes glanced slightly , but looked at Han Su in the class, the corners of his lips were not easy to detect, and he raised his lips.

He was leaning on the dragon seat in a trance just now, he was really thinking about something, but he didn't completely lose his mind, he actually saw clearly the faces and expressions of the courtiers under His Highness.Han Su glared at him, gritted his teeth for a moment with a black face, and then looked sad for a while, Xiao Zong didn't miss any of these.He saw it in his eyes, and felt very relieved in his heart. Most of the courtiers in the court looked down on him, and his Taifu still did not abandon him.

Xiao Zong relaxed on the dragon chair.

Under the imperial steps, Wen Ting raised his head and squinted his old eyes, looking straight up.He understands the truth of being a low-key official, but now the emperor, he scratches his heart and wants to deceive him.

Humming to himself, Wen Ting said: "King Qin's 24th birthday is coming soon, it will be the tenth day of the next month. I wonder if His Majesty has ever heard of it? What's your intention?"

Xiao Zong seemed surprised for a moment: "Is there such a thing? I have never heard anyone mention it. It turns out that King Qin is 24 years old, but he is the same age as me. Calculated carefully, I have grown him by more than two months." Glancing at Han Su, he bared his teeth, and as expected, he saw Tai Fu's eyes full of surprise.

In fact, Han Su had already told him about this solemnly a few days ago. When the vassal king celebrates his birthday, the emperor should express his gift. The congratulatory gift should not be light or heavy, especially for King Qin.Han Su suggested that he think carefully, and must show the emperor's grace without losing the emperor's prestige.

But Xiao Zong didn't think that the matter was too big and worth his troubles, so he immediately put it behind him.

Wen Ting was waiting for the imperial decree at the bottom of the steps, but the emperor just dropped a word of gossip and didn't say anything. He didn't say who to send to congratulate, nor did he say what to prepare for the congratulatory gift. He suddenly felt that he was really tired and waited every time. Only when he stuffed the words into his mouth did Tian Zi know how to speak. Although he enjoyed it most of the time, he felt impatient occasionally.

"Your Majesty, King Qin's birthday is supposed to be rewarded. Your Majesty, please make a quick decision and make preparations earlier. If the time is too late, it will be a joke."

Xiao Zong nodded in agreement, and said lightly: "What Wen Xiang said is, in your opinion, what should I reward the King of Qin?"

Wen Ting stroked his gray beard and thought for a while: "The several state capitals on the northwest border are all fiefdoms of the King of Qin. After all, he is actually guarding the border for His Majesty. Although it is the duty of a courtier to defend the territory, he also Even if you take on more important responsibilities than others, His Majesty's reward must be substantial, not light and frivolous."

Xiao Zong nodded again, and said in response: "What kind of thick method?"

"Give him a double birthday gift for the prince of the royal family."

Han Su frowned immediately when he heard this.The royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty was already extravagant, so they doubled the congratulatory gifts, and there would have to be several stacks of gifts alone.

Wen Ting hadn't finished speaking yet, he continued: "These are just superficial courtesy, not worth mentioning. Your Majesty should reward King Qin with what he cares about most. In this way, if you accept his heart, there will be no worries at the border. "

Xiao Zong was silent for a while, his face was gloomy, and his tone was cold: "I don't know what he's thinking about?" After a pause, he asked: "Mr. Wen knows?"

Wen Ting looked at the emperor with a disdainful look of 'what do you know', and said, "Changying Mansion."

When these three words were spoken, commotion immediately erupted in the hall, and all the ministers whispered among themselves.

Xiao Zong was silent for a long time, and said expressionlessly: "What does the Prime Minister mean, that I put Changying Mansion into the fiefdom of the King of Qin? Although Changying Mansion is not large in size, the 81st prefectures of my Great Zhou Dynasty, the King of Qin has already occupied sixteen of them. If you want such a gift-giving method, if he celebrates his birthday and I give him a state capital, won’t my family name be changed to Tuoba sooner or later?”

The hall suddenly fell silent again, all the officials looked at the emperor on the throne in surprise, and Wen Ting was also a little dazed in the middle of the hall.

Xiao Zong has been on the throne for half a year, and he has always obeyed the prime minister's orders. The officials have never heard him say "no", let alone such a sharp question like just now.

The courtiers stared at Han Su for a moment, feeling that the Son of Heaven was not different from usual except that his face was a little colder, and he was still as gentle as ever, so they glanced at Han Su with the corners of their eyes intentionally or unintentionally.Taifu Han is the closest to the emperor, and he has a suspicion with the prime minister. The emperor's behavior today must be instigated by him behind his back.

Everyone understood it, and Wen Ting, who was stunned, was relieved, and the first thing he did when he came back to his senses was to stare at Han Su.Han Su twitched his lips and turned a blind eye.

Wen Ting said to Xiao Zong in a blink of an eye: "Your Majesty is joking, the state capital can't be assigned to the vassal king casually, let alone the country of Da Zhou. But Changying Mansion should really be given to King Qin. Recently, Changying Mansion Zhou Mu His Majesty already knew about the fact that King Qin was impeached several times for allowing his subordinates to riot and rob rice. The officials sent people to find out that it was because King Qin's fiefdom was located in the frontier, and his 20 troops could not support themselves in food and wages. Your Majesty, the army is short of food and the morale of the army is not stable. How can the border pass be peaceful. Although Changying Mansion is small but rich, if it is assigned to the King of Qin, he will not be troubled if he has no worries about food and grass. , when the time comes, all the kings of the world will be grateful and will definitely submit to the emperor's benevolence."

As soon as Wen Ting finished speaking, Li Ji, Minister of the Ministry of War, rushed to stand up.

Since ancient times, few civil servants and generals can wear the same pair of trousers. This is the case with Li Ji and Wen Ting.However, this time is different. Li Ji responded in a rare way to his deadly opponent for the first time: "Your Majesty, I seconded the proposal. The prime minister's words can be counted in one fell swoop. It is wise and wise to exchange a small state capital for the border and the peace of the world." For example, the King of Qin has received the favor of the emperor, and he will definitely remember it in his heart to serve His Majesty. Moreover, the King of Qin has defeated foreign invaders several times at the border, and he has preserved our century-old foundation and outstanding military exploits. It is not an exaggeration to grant him the Changying Mansion."

After Li Jizuo returned to the ranks, fire and water were compatible, and most of the courtiers looked at each other in blank dismay.However, it is rare for the two important ministers, civil and military, to have the same caliber. It is really good that they don't need to choose one or the other.

Han Su frowned, sneered secretly, and said in his heart, a bunch of old bastards with no morals, who are afraid of death and the King of Qin will get it, and they are still so high-sounding and shameless!

He was about to speak up when he came out, but Xiao Zong stopped him with a wave of his hand.

Xiao Zong looked down at the hundreds of people in the hall, remained silent for a while, and then said lightly: "King Qin is going to have a birthday, I have known about it for a long time. I have already decided on his congratulatory gift." After a pause, his thin lips opened again : "Changying Mansion, I won't give it. I won't give you a double birthday gift. When I ascended the throne, the King of Qin never congratulated him in person. He is a vassal king for his birthday, so I have to go to great lengths to celebrate him? Da Zhou There is no such kind of ethics! The ruler is noble and the minister is light, and I will not give him a copper coin!"

Xiao Zong glanced at the stunned courtiers, and said two words indifferently: "Back to court."

The seventh emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Renzhi Emperor Xiao Zong, had been enthroned half a year ago and showed his power for the first time.