The Child Emperor

Han Ruzi opened his eyes and looked at the familiar Cui Xiaojun. In the dimness, it was a slightly undulating silhouette, only the tip of his nose was slightly clear. Han Ruzi stretched out his arm and wanted to touch it lightly. At the end, he smiled. With a smile, he quietly got out of bed, preparing for the day's work.

He has many things to do.

The court has accumulated a large number of memorials, which must be repeated in batches, like a mountain, waiting for the emperor to level off alone. Since the throne has not been officially restored, and there is no treasure seal in his hand, Han Ruzi cannot officially approve the memorials, but he can review them in advance. .

Lingyun Pavilion has almost become a warehouse, filled with boxes and piles of paper, each of which is kept in the corresponding department and yamen. will be discovered.

One of the responsibilities of the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Qinzheng Palace is to help the emperor deal with the memorial. Han Ruzi hopes to understand the situation in various places before the court resumes operation. Therefore, the Qinzheng Palace has not been restored. As for the Prime Minister's Mansion, it has been paralyzed for a long time. Not working as it should.

Han Ruzi didn't look at it aimlessly, and ordered the Zhongshu Province to collect the memorials about the disasters in various places, and he should check them first.

The situation was not very good, and the more Han Ruzi looked, the more he frowned.

It was dawn outside, Zhang Youcai extinguished the candle, and after the emperor put down a memorial, he said softly, "Your Majesty, it's time for breakfast."

Han Ruzi nodded, indicating that he was eating in Lingyun Pavilion. He raised his eyes and looked out the window. There was a bit of spring in the garden. He couldn't help thinking of the scene when he was forced to read, and a smile appeared on his face, and then said to Zhang Youcai: " Du's grandfather and grandson have left the capital, have you heard?"

"Well, Du Chuanyun asked Brother Cai to send me a letter, saying... Whenever you are bored in the palace, you will go to him to play, as long as the word 'Du Chuanyun' is mentioned in the rivers and lakes, No one doesn't know, and they will definitely find him."

Han Ruzi laughed, hearing this was Du Chuanyun's arrogant tone, "It's a pity they won't stay, I just want to reuse them."

The food had already been prepared, Han Ruzi went to the next room to eat, and when he had almost eaten, Zhang Youcai continued what he said just now: "Grandpa Du, especially Du Chuanyun, really can't be reused."

Han Ruzi's thoughts had turned to other things, and he was slightly startled when he heard this sentence, "Why?"

"The two of them don't follow the rules, they do it once or twice, and it's like this time and time again. Your Majesty will be embarrassed. If you let them go, the others will not follow the rules, and you won't let them go - so it's better for them to walk the rivers and lakes. ."

Han Ruzi was at a loss, there are people in this world who he wants to use but can't. Yang Feng may be right, the emperor must understand what he can't do, but instead of giving up, bypassing "can't" and using " able” to achieve their goals.

A eunuch hurried up, knelt on the ground, and presented a document with both hands, interrupting the emperor's thoughts, "The Ministry of War is urgent."

The documents had been dismantled, and the Ministry of War had obviously seen them. They felt that they were in a hurry, so they stamped them and sent them directly to the palace, instead of handing them in step by step according to the normal procedure.

Han Ruzi glanced at it, his face changed suddenly, "Go to the Qinzheng Hall."

Although the emperor did not come, the ministers in the Qinzheng Palace could not be absent from work. They would come over every morning to say hello, say a few polite words to each other, and then return to the office.

Yin Wuxian has been seriously ill, Han Xing and Cui Hong are away, and the Qinzheng Palace has become deserted. Only Shen Mingzhi, the censor of the right patrol, Feng Ju, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Yuan Jiuding, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, are left. Yuan Jiuding is especially embarrassed. It was the queen mother who was elected to the Qinzheng Palace. Now that the queen mother is out of power, his position has become very dangerous. He has to come to the Qinzheng Palace, and he dare not behave as he should. Anyone can blow him out in one breath.

Han Ruzi issued several orders on the road, and summoned Jiang Juying, the Minister of War, Cui Hong, the chief of the Southern Army, Chai Yue, and Liu Kunsheng, the generals of the Northern Army, to come to Qinzheng Hall together.

The southern and northern army camps were outside the city.

The news has spread that the general Han Xing has been defeated, and Hangu Pass has been captured by Shangguan Sheng.

Han Ruzi couldn't understand how such a thing could happen. Han Xing had tens of thousands of troops, and he had the strength of the city and the advantage of the terrain. In the face of Shangguan Sheng, who had only a few thousand remaining soldiers, there was no reason for a big defeat.

As soon as he entered the Hall of Qinzheng, the four ministers present and several officials from the Zhongshu Province immediately knelt down. Han Ruzi waved for them to get up and strode forward, not sitting on the throne on the side, but standing on the side. At the table, he said to Jiang Juying, "Give me an explanation."

The four ministers looked at each other in dismay. The emperor's position usually belonged to the prime minister. It was a bit unusual for him to stand there, but no one dared to make a sound, especially Jiang Juying, the Minister of War. Hou confronted and reaps a fiasco.

When the champion Hou finally got up, Jiang Juying did not follow him, but after all, he had stains on his body and was very afraid. When he heard the emperor's questioning, he immediately knelt down, "Chen..."

"Get up and talk." Han Ruzi said.

Jiang Juying got up, didn't do anything, was sweating profusely, glanced at Shen Mingzhi, the censor of the right patrol, and felt a little at ease, "The front line is chaotic, the first letter was sent by Shang County, it may be a mistake, We'll have to wait a bit for more accurate news..."

"Well, you can wait, but you can't wait. No matter what the reason is, if the general is defeated and Hangu Pass is lost, how should the court respond?"

Several ministers look at me, I look at you, and they all hope that the other party will speak first.

Yang Feng walked in and stood behind the emperor. He was not a minister of state affairs, so there was no need to inform him.

Jiang Juying is the minister of military affairs, so he can only speak first, "According to my humble opinion, even if Shangguansheng wins, it will be a fluke, and there is no need for the court to make a big effort. With a little time off, the general will definitely be able to turn defeat into victory."

Shen Mingzhi and Feng Ju both supported the view of the Minister of War. Yuan Jiuding, the Minister of Rites, hummed a few times, not even sure that he was qualified to stand here, until the emperor's eyes saw him, he said: "General... Can... turn defeat into victory."

Han Ruzi didn't listen very carefully. He knew that the intelligence of these ministers was not in the war, and he would definitely not be able to come up with good ideas. He just used the time the four of them talked to recall the memorials he had read.

Chai Yue, the commander of the Northern Army, and Liu Kunsheng, the commander of the Northern Army, arrived on the road. They had already heard the news of the defeat of Hangu Pass. After visiting the shrine, Chai Yue immediately said: "There must be something abnormal at Hangu Pass, either because the news is false, or it is the general. I have a problem."

The ministers heard that "something went wrong" had another meaning, and Feng Ju, Minister of Personnel, said in surprise, "It's not so, the general is an important official of the clan, and he has always been loyal to the court..."

Chai Yue explained: "I mean that the general may die unexpectedly, which gave Shangguan Sheng Ke an opportunity."

Han Xing is not young, and there is a possibility of sudden death, but the timing is too coincidental.

Chai Yue continued: "It's not too late, the court should immediately send the generals to the east, and there is still a chance to gather the defeated soldiers and retake Hangu Pass."

Han Ruzi had already made a choice, that is, Chai Yue himself, just as he was about to speak, Yang Feng, who was behind him, gently kicked the emperor's heel.

Han Ruzi immediately understood Yang Feng's intention. Chai Yue was only the "general" in the emperor's mind. For the people of the world, Chai Yue's position, reputation and prestige were not high enough. old department.

He retracted his appointment and said, "If Shangguan Sheng really seizes Hangu Pass and sticks to it, the problem will not be big. If you take it back, I only worry about one thing: the disaster in Kanto is serious, and it is too late to release food for disaster relief. Since the spring, the number of refugees will inevitably increase, and if Shangguan Sheng joins forces with thieves from all over the world, it will be a big trouble."

Han Ruzi had tried every means to open warehouses and put food in various places, but the memorials he saw in the past few days showed that his efforts were only partially successful.

Without the imperial decree, it is a dead end. Officials from all over the country have different attitudes towards opening warehouses. The more severe the disaster, the more reluctant officials are to open warehouses, fearing that there will be insufficient food, which will eventually lead to greater chaos.

Han Ruzi wanted to reissue the imperial decree for a long time, but without the "decree" of the Baoxi seal, the officials in the capital could admit that if it was sent outside the capital, the effect would be weakened, and whether to believe it or not became the choice of the local officials.

Shen Mingzhi suggested that the Minister of the Household Department and the censor of Zuo Cha, Xiao Sheng, should also be called.

The two arrived quickly, especially Xiao Sheng, who seemed to be waiting outside the gate and arrived as soon as they called, and their attitude was much more positive than the others.

Facts have shown that ministers are not stupid, and when they think hard, they can still come up with good ideas. "The most urgent task is to tell the world: the Great Chu will put things right, His Majesty will return to the Supreme Court, the court will be stable, and the army and the people will be united. Shangguan Sheng is rebellious and hijacked. The descendants of the clan, everyone gets them and kills them, there is no way for him to escape, and the troops will inevitably be scattered."

The Minister of Hu arrived a little later and did not make any comments, but it confirmed the emperor's guess that the situation in Kanto is not optimistic. The number of refugees is indeed decreasing, but it is extremely unstable. These people have no land to grow. , found that it is still difficult to harvest this year, and it is very likely that they will become refugees again.

Mrs. Cui came last, changed his mind several times on the way, and finally came. He made up his mind that if the emperor wanted to send himself to pacify the chaos, he would refuse no matter what, unless his daughter Cui Xiaojun gave birth to a prince. will feel safe.

Cui Hong even thought about the reason, but the emperor did not send him to send troops.

Nearly noon, not long after Mrs. Cui arrived, news of Hangu Pass came one after another, and it was sent directly to the Qinzheng Hall. The Minister of War was unpacked and read out in front of the emperor.

Chai Yue guessed right, General Han Xing did have an accident, but it was not a death.

Han Xing was assassinated, and the timing was just right. It was just when the two armies were about to go to war. The Chu army had no leader, so the chaos gave Shangguan Sheng a chance to win more with less. Now that he has occupied Hangu Pass, his next move is unknown.

Han Ruzi couldn't help but turn around and glance at Yang Feng.

Yang Feng just got the news yesterday that the Meng brothers and sisters and a dozen guards ran all the way to the east and disappeared near Hangu Pass.