The Child Emperor

(Thanks to the reader "*****camphor ball" for the red tip)

Midsummer is approaching, and the news of King Qi's arrest has made the capital even hotter. Groups of officials rode to Kanto to clean up the mess. The battle of soldiers coming and going is coming to an end. At the beginning, the unarmored civil servants sharpened their knives and vowed to dig out every traitor.

Small-scale battles have already begun in the capital, and ministers are arrested almost every day, and the hidden past events are revealed. A conversation and a letter with someone from Qi State on a certain day in a certain year are the evidence of the crime.

The war against adultery is in full swing, and gradually spread to Qi, to all parts of the world, and even penetrated into the palace. Han Ruzi found that the eunuchs who followed him were replaced more and more frequently, and new faces appeared every day, while old faces became more cautious. , It used to be possible to be lazy occasionally, but now a group of people stood outside Lingyun Pavilion, and no one dared to speak for a long time, let alone leave their posts without authorization. Zhang Yanghao and others hadn't touched dice for a few days.

On the afternoon of the third day after seeing Zuo Ji, Han Ruzi found an opportunity to have a conversation with the empress dowager.

"Zuo Ji said that there was a court lady who might know the cause of Sidi's death, but he didn't know the name."

"I know, her name is Chen Anshu. Not long after Sidi's death, she committed suicide by jumping into a well. It is said that she was forced to question by Yang Feng, and she was too frightened."

Han Ruzi deliberately didn't mention Yang Feng's name, but the imperial concubine took the initiative to say it, and then waved her hand lightly, "Yang Feng is loyal to Sidi and even willing to die for Sidi. He must have suspected something wrong, so he has been investigating endlessly. , the Empress Dowager may have sent him out of the capital because of this."

Han Ruzi didn't believe that Yang Fenghui was a kingkiller at first, and the words of the imperial concubine reassured him even more. At the same time, he was a little jealous. Yang Feng really wanted to help Sidi, and helping the current emperor was a last resort. , That's why I'm half-hearted.

"What should I do next?" Han Ruzi didn't say anything about Zhang Yanghao, but kept an eye out, planning to take every step.

"So Your Majesty is willing to trust me?"

Han Ruzi nodded. To be honest, he was not particularly interested in Sidi's death, but now he believed that the imperial concubine and the queen dowager really had a grudge against each other.

The imperial concubine waited for a while, then lowered her voice and said: "The ministers in the court are in panic, and they all want to start trouble as soon as possible."

"Who are the ministers you mentioned?" Han Ruzi asked.

The empress dowager smiled, "I'm only in charge of contacting His Majesty in the palace, protecting His Majesty's safety in times of crisis, and contacting Master Luo for external matters. You might as well ask your Majesty when you are in class, even if he can't answer clearly Will give some hints."

Han Ruzi nodded again.

"The plan was also drawn up by Master Luo. The key to seizing power is not the Queen Mother, but Ma Guanxu, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army. During these days, he has been stationed in the Southern Army to win the hearts of the soldiers. About half a month later, Grand Tutor Cui Hong will When the class teacher returns to the capital, Shangguanxu will definitely go to greet him, and the ministers plan to take this opportunity to make trouble and deprive the two of them of their seals at the same time."

"Teacher Cui also wants to take it?"

"The Cui family is too powerful, and they have made great achievements just now. If they don't seize power, I'm afraid they will become the second queen mother."

Han Ruzi nodded again.

"But it's not enough to just seize the seal and ribbon. Without His Majesty's imperial decree, other ministers and army officers and soldiers will not obey the order of the insurgent."

"Do you want me to write the imperial decree? But the emperor's seal is not in my hands, so my writing is probably useless."

"This is what His Majesty and I have to do. We have to find a way to get the seal and write a real imperial decree. If we cooperate with each other inside and outside, we can accomplish great things."

This sounded like a plan that was likely to succeed, but Han Ruzi hesitated, perhaps because the imperial concubine had lied, and he didn't have much trust. After thinking for a while, he said, "Let me think about it."

"Your Majesty, don't miss this opportunity. The current situation is chaotic and peaceful, and internal and external turmoil. Your Majesty's response is a great opportunity to regain power. After a while, once the situation is completely stabilized, the ministers will not be so easy to respond. Your Majesty's daily Didn’t you notice something when you went to Qinzheng Palace? Almost every day, new officials take office, and most of them are recommended by Shangguan Xu and his followers. If things go on like this, the Shangguan family will be the next Cui family.”

"Shangguan Xu is also your elder brother."

The imperial concubine sneered, "The entire Shangguan family only has eyes for the queen mother, but I still want to plead for them. After the matter is completed, please Your Majesty demote the Shangguan family to a commoner and spare their lives."

"I want to think about it, isn't there still half a month left? It should be too late."

"Jing Yao is in charge of the seal now, and it's not easy to take it out..." Halfway through the speech, the imperial concubine changed her mind and bowed with a smile, "It takes a long time to be cautious, and your majesty should think about it. Decided, just let me know, I will find a way to get the seal, and the imperial decree must be written by His Majesty himself."

The empress dowager said goodbye.

When he went to bed and went to sleep, Han Ruzi suddenly understood why he didn't trust the imperial concubine, not only because she had lied, but also because Yang Feng had reminded him: the first person who contacted the emperor must have ulterior motives.

So far, several people have contacted the emperor: Meng E wanted a reward that only the queen mother or the emperor could give, but refused to say what it was; Tong Qing'e's "intention" was simple and direct, and it was forced; What about Luo Huanzhang and the Empress Dowager?These two people want the most, but they want the least. They don't want fame, profit, or officials. One wants to help the royal family out of benevolence and righteousness, and the other wants to avenge the sisters.

It's not credible, Han Ruzi said to himself, it's not credible, if Yang Feng was here, he would be able to see the real purpose of the two at a glance, but he just felt suspicious.

He wanted more than ever to hear from his mother.

The next morning's lecturer happened to be Luo Huanzhang. He had already talked about Emperor Wanwan, and began to discuss the third emperor of Great Chu, Emperor An, and the fourth emperor, Emperor Lie.

Emperor An was weak and sick, and passed away after four years in office. He did not achieve much, but his son Liedi made a lot of achievements. If he hadn't been captured by Emperor Wu later, he would be the emperor with the most outstanding military exploits in Great Chu.

Emperor Lie ruled the country for 16 years, which was not a long time. During this period, the rebellion of the princes was put down, the Xiongnu was expelled from the north, the Baiyue was conquered from the south, and Ma Shi, the foreign relative at that time, was eradicated inside.

"Mashi's monopoly, overreaching, and even some officials called themselves 'Mashi officials' to show their honor. The wise emperor saw that not all the officials were used by Mashi, so he followed the trend and issued an order. In the meantime, Ma's henchmen obeyed the law, and none of them escaped."

"Since the Ma family has exclusive power, why are there still ministers who refuse to attach themselves?" Han Ruzi asked. Since he jumped out of the window last time, there have been four eunuchs who have joined the cabinet to serve the emperor, but they don't understand the history of the country and are not interested. He stared intently at the emperor.

"The so-called 'if the name is not right, the words will not go well, and if the words don't go well, things will fail'. The greater the Ma's power, the more wrong his name is. Every time a 'Ma's official' is arranged, a group of 'emperor officials' will be offended. Attaching to Ma In order to seek prosperity and wealth, the tree falls and the monkeys scatter naturally. Those who have their hearts attached to the emperor think righteousness and act benevolently, and they follow one another, even if they die, because the emperor is the only legitimate ruler of the world."

Luo Huanzhang's words are not unreasonable. Isn't Zhong Zhangxi Liu Jie a loyal minister who pursues "righteousness" through death?But there is always another sentence echoing in Han Ruzi's mind - one cannot be selfish enough to think that others are not selfish - Yang Feng is not around, his influence is still there, Han Ruzi still wants to know what the selfishness of Luo Huanzhang and the imperial concubine is.

This class was a bit embarrassing, Luo Huanzhang couldn't speak too bluntly, he could only keep praising Emperor Lie for his decisiveness, in order to persuade the emperor.

In the Hall of Qinzheng, Han Ruzi took a closer look. Indeed, some officials were being transferred, promoted or demoted. No matter who the recommender was, it seemed that it had nothing to do with Shangguanxu, but when the ministers picked up a certain Qin Zhang , occasionally frowning, or exchanging glances with each other, but did not raise any objection.

This is the most important reason why the Empress Dowager sent Tai Fu Cui Hong to the capital. While he was away, she deployed her own forces extensively inside and outside the court. Wasn't the Empress Dowager afraid that Cui Hong would really surrender to the King of Qi?Han Ruzi suddenly felt that the queen mother was very adventurous. From the first confrontation with the ministers to the present, the queen mother almost took risks every step of the way. Not only her own status and life, but also the great Chu's country were at stake. .

Han Ruzi was also a little anxious. The name of Dachu Jiangshan belonged to him. If it was destroyed by the Queen Mother, he would suffer the greatest loss.

But he still had to wait, at least until his mother's reply.

This wait lasted for three days, and there were good news from Kanto every day. Taifu Cui Hong's army was destroying the remaining small rebels with thunderous momentum. Conspirator, just as the king of the East China Sea expected, the number of bewitchers of King Qi is unimaginable, especially the people around him, almost all of them are bewitchers, and bewitchers lead to new bewitchers and followers. In seven days, more than a thousand criminals have been implicated.

This afternoon, Han Ruzi finally received a reply letter from his mother, without being forwarded by the King of Donghai, the youngest son of Marquis Junyang, King Huahu, directly slipped a folded letter to the emperor.

At that time, Instructor Liu was teaching everyone more sword and shield skills, and the attendants were more interested in the war in Kanto, asking each other and passing on new news. The scene was quite chaotic, and King Huahu took the opportunity to get close to the emperor.

King Huahu looked at others, deliberately avoiding the emperor, and at the same time said in a low voice, "The Hua family is loyal to His Majesty."

Hou Huabin of Junyang is well-known as a hero, and it is said that he was implicated by the King of Qi. The reason why he has not been arrested is because many ministers tried their best to protect him.

This is the first minister to voluntarily express support for the emperor. Hua Bin's selfishness is obvious and relatively credible. The only thing Han Ruzi is not sure about is whether the Hua family has any connection with Luo Huanzhang.

Han Ruzi was absent-minded during the martial arts training in the afternoon, and he didn't even know what to eat when he returned to the palace for dinner in the evening. Finally, he got a chance when he was lighting the lamp, took out the letter paper, and opened it quickly.

It was not a letter from the mother, but a few words written by King Huahu: A few days ago, the mother sent people to the mansion, but now they have gone to the empty building, and their whereabouts are unknown.

A surge of anger rose in Han Ruzi's heart, and the queen mother actually took his mother away.

(seeking collection and recommendation)