The Child Emperor

Cui Xiaojun didn't mention the conflict with Wang Meiren that night. In her narration, after leaving her residence, she immediately went to Taizu's clothing room. The eunuch there recognized the former queen, opened the door for her, and untied Yang Bong's rope, one piece escaped.

Han Ruzi also did not intend to bring up the matter. He was about to leave the capital and go to "conquer" the great Chu Jiangshan that belonged to him.

But it can't just go away.

The next day before dawn, the emperor and the queen got up early, Cui Xiaojun dressed the emperor himself, kept silent, and finally said, "Don't go to bed too late when you are out of the palace."

Han Ruzi smiled, kissed the queen lightly on the forehead, and walked out of the room. He had already decided not to let anyone in the palace see him off.

There are people waiting outside, Zhang Youcai and Loach will serve the emperor personally - Loach does not want to be a eunuch, and has been living with the soldiers of the tribe. There were also fifteen other eunuchs and thirty guards, all of whom were personally selected by Yang Feng, and had only one task, to protect the safety of the emperor within ten steps.

Han Ruzi first went to the Queen Mother's bedroom, said goodbye to the Queen Mother and her mother outside the gate, and then went directly to the Taimiao to perform a simple ancestor worship ceremony. After the ceremony, they took a sedan chair to the North Palace Gate.

Halfway through, he summoned two people one after another.

One is the palace maid Tong Qing'e. She is now the maid of Qiuxin Palace and is in charge of affairs related to the queen. Han Ruzi made a few more instructions, asking her to take good care of the queen.

The other is Yang Feng. The two of them have already said what they should say. Before leaving, Han Ruzi summoned again in the hope that Yang Feng could maintain the stability of the palace. "The Cishun Palace and Qiuxin Palace are the most important things. , I hope Duke Yang cares."

Han Ruzi can only say this.

Yang Feng seemed to understand something. After thinking for a while, he nodded and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

After leaving the palace gate, the sky was slightly bright, and more people were waiting here, including a hundred ceremonial guards, two hundred guards, and more than forty officials from various departments. Form a temporary imperial court, keep in touch with the yamen in Beijing every day, and provide the latest news in case of emergency.

The team traveled out of the city through the north gate, and then turned around to go to Hangu Pass in the east.

There were more people waiting outside the city. All the ministers above the fifth rank in the capital came to see them off. There was also an army of 1,000 people. The ceremonial guards and the guards are all purple and yellow, and they are quite imposing.

The ceremony of sacrificing the flag was held under the city gate. Three pure white horses were sacrificed. The Chiyou flag was stained with blood. This black and red flag, together with the emperor's dragon flag, became the most important symbol of the army.

It was already bright and the emperor was about to set off. At this moment, a small accident happened.

More than a dozen ministers knelt on the bridge of the moat, weeping bitterly and stopped the car, hoping that the emperor would think again and not go out easily.

Han Ruzi had read similar records in the history books, but he had already "convinced" the ministers in the Hall of Diligence, thinking that this kind of thing would not happen to him, and he had even sacrificed the military flag and never gave up. The possibility of personal expedition, as a result, there are still ministers making trouble.

The team was stopped, Han Ruzi waved to Liu Jie behind him, and asked in a low voice, "What should I do?"

Liu Jie has been an eunuch in the palace for many years and has a lot of knowledge. He immediately replied: "Your Majesty does not need to come forward, I will handle it."

Liu Jie jumped off his horse, walked quickly to the bridge, helped the three highest-ranking ministers with his own hands, said a few words, and then quickly walked back to the emperor's horse, nodded and bowed, without saying a word, and again. Running back to the bridge, he really started talking with the minister.

This was repeated three times, and the ministers finally stepped aside and watched the emperor cross the bridge.

Han Ruzi finally welcomed the army that accompanied him on this trip. It was claimed to be 10,000 people, and the number of entourage was almost 13,000 people. Since they were all received by the county and county along the way, no civilians were used, and the extra 3,000 people were there. They are all people around the emperor, as well as many clans, nobles, and ministers' relatives who volunteered to fight, as well as their entourage.

The number of generals was extremely large, with more than two hundred people holding the title of generals, and at least fifty people qualified to participate in military affairs and politics in front of the emperor.

There are also 20 doctors from Guozijian and bachelors from Hanlin Academy, all of whom are recommended consultants.

Even after leaving the palace and the capital, Han Ruzi could still feel that there was a net covering him, and the minister was only the most important part of the net.

Nearly noon, Han Ruzi was finally able to ride his horse.

The number of 10,000 soldiers is not large, but the emperor personally marched, and it was still divided into five armies, front, back, left, middle and right. Chai Yue personally led the front army and set off at dawn. Fang Daye commanded the middle army and was the outermost layer of protection for the emperor. , and the generals of the other three armies are recommended by the Ministry of War.

Taifu Cui Hong has a high position, staying by the emperor's side and in charge of the five armies. In order to highlight his status, he has been awarded the title of general. However, everyone understands that this is a rise in name and a real downgrade. The Cui family has already lost power. It depends on the trust of the emperor.

The army stopped less than two hours after departure, and moved into the camp that had been prepared. At this time, it was still light, and they did not even leave the boundary of Gyeonggi.

Han Ruzi summoned Cui Hong. He thought that the meeting would be a bit awkward, but Cui Hong was indeed a veteran of three dynasties who had seen the world. Nor was he panicked by the fact that he was once an enemy of the emperor.

"General, can we reach Hangu Pass within three days?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, the troops are unstable, and stability is the top priority. The situation at Hangu Pass is unknown. After the former army sends back news, you can choose whether to speed up, slow down, or pause."

There were only a few guards and eunuchs in the tent, Han Ruzi thought they were not there, sat on the chair and leaned forward a little, and said, "I think I have made it clear that I must arrive at Hangu Pass within three days, Shangguan. If Sheng escapes, he must chase after him, and if he sticks to the gate, he will just be wiped out."

Cui Hong nodded frequently, "Your Majesty is right, but if His Majesty or even your respected body makes a mistake, even if it is just a little bit, the ministers will become sinners through the ages.

Cui Hong plopped down on his knees and said earnestly: "Although this minister is stupid, he has led troops for decades, and he has mastered the art of warfare. "

Han Ruzi didn't want to have a conflict with Cui Hong as soon as he left Beijing, "Okay, it's arranged by the general. If there is news from the former army, let me know at any time, sooner or later."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Cui Hong retired, and Liu Jie, the supervisor of the Central Division, reminded the emperor that on the first day of the expedition, the emperor had to offer condolences to the entire army.

Generals, officials, advisors, clans, nobles, relatives of ministers, etc., must send two or three representatives to visit the emperor in the tent, thank Dade, and then "bring" the emperor's condolences to others.

After this set of procedures, it became dark, and Han Ruzi understood why he stopped so early on the first day.

After dinner, Han Ruzi left Liu Jie and wanted to chat with him.

"Liu Gong is very familiar with these matters in the DPRK and China?"

Liu Jie once glared at the empress dowager and other ministers in the Hall of Diligence, but he always bowed his head beside the emperor, just like an ordinary eunuch. Han Ruzi once thought that this would be a Yang Feng-style character, but soon realized that Yang Feng was unique and Liu Jie was just a loyal eunuch.

"I know a thing or two. I have served Emperor Wu for a period of time, and I have seen Emperor Wu deal with ministers several times."

Han Ruzi's interest suddenly increased, "It turns out that Duke Liu served Emperor Wu, tell me about him."

Liu Jie knelt down and kowtowed, and said solemnly, "Your Majesty doesn't want people around you to be sloppy and talk nonsense in the future, right?"

Han Ruzi was stunned for a moment, then laughed, Liu Jie was indeed an upright eunuch and refused to talk about the behavior of the late emperor.

"Then let's talk about the minister, what do those people mean when they knelt on the bridge to stop the car? For the name? For the loyalty? For the profit?"

"That's just a habit, Your Majesty." Liu Jie got up, and he could answer this question without any hesitation, "Habit is a good thing, it's best to use it to protect yourself."

"A few kowtows on the bridge and a few tears will be able to protect yourself?"

Liu Jie smiled slightly, "Your Majesty thinks they are strange, pedantic, and even hypocritical, but he doesn't hate them, or even particularly hate them, right?"

Han Ruzi didn't say a word. Of course he wouldn't hate a group of ministers who knelt down to him. As for the hatred, it was a little bit, but not very strong.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Why don't the other ministers participate in the stop?"

"Each has its own strengths. Your Majesty will see all kinds of 'habits' in the future."

"I've seen a lot just now." Han Ruzi shook his head, from Cui Hong to the minister's relatives, all of them were dealing with him with "habits".

"Your Majesty's body cannot be misunderstood." Liu Jie reminded seriously.

Han Ruzi was stunned again, and then he realized that in front of his cronies, he often referred to himself as "I" instead of "Zhen", which was also a habit.

"I understand." Han Ruzi also replied earnestly. He regarded Liu Jie as his first loyal minister, but he was not familiar with him. In the process of getting to know each other, his initial impression was that this eunuch was unwilling to follow the crowd. hard rock.

"Can the minister's habits be changed?"

"Habits are cultivated by the emperor. As long as your majesty is willing, you can of course change them. But majesty must be careful. It takes a lot of time and effort to change these habits. Do you have the time to spare?"

Han Ruzi nodded, Liu Jie was right, there are priorities, and changing the court's habits is indeed not a top priority, but you can't just get stuck in it, "Since you can't move for the time being, you can always get around it, right?"

Liu Jie was silent for a while, "If I say yes, I am a minister, and if I make an idea, I am the public enemy of the entire court, so my answer is - you can't go around, these habits are cultivated little by little by the previous emperors. , even if there are no other benefits, it is very beneficial to your Majesty's safety."

Han Ruzi laughed again, and even the loyal Liu Jie had a "habit".

He still decided to bypass it, because these "habits" were not formed by him.

"Summon the King of the East Sea." Han Ruzi wants to start from here.