A Clash of Gods - Chapter 200

[Chapter 199]

Qi Ning said: “The emperor said just now that since the founding of the Great Chu Kingdom, there has been no duke with a different surname. If the emperor takes the initiative to grant him the title of great merit, then naturally everyone will be very happy, but if the ministers have intentions, it is against the rules since the founding of the country. Ritual system. It is impossible for Marquis Zhongyi not to understand this truth.”

“Of course he understands.” Long Tai said: “The Marquis of Zhongyi is the hero of the founding of the country. Before I, he was already a veteran of the three dynasties.”

“So the emperor bestows the title on the court. If the Marquis of Zhongyi refuses to receive the title, then the matter should be the queen mother’s wishful thinking, and Marquis Zhongyi has no other thoughts.” Qi Ning said: “At least it means that Marquis Zhongyi does not dare to easily destroy the ancestral system. It also proves that Marquis Zhongyi is still the pillar of my Great Chu.”

Longtai thoughtfully, nodded slightly and said, “If the Hou Zhongyi accepts it with pleasure, it means that he no longer regards the ancestral system in his eyes.”

“Secondly, even if the Marquis of Zhongyi really accepts the title of Duke, the emperor doesn’t have to worry too much.” Qi Ning said slowly, “Your Majesty, after I arrived in the capital, although I didn’t see much, I also knew about the King of Huainan. The power is not weak, and there are people in the court and the opposition.”

Longtai’s face was slightly cold, and he said: “The king of Huainan thinks he is the orthodox, and everyone knows his ambition to usurp the throne. The late emperor tried his best to appease him, which can be said to be boundless glory, but he is not grateful for the mighty kindness of the emperor. It’s a matter of every inch, and when I returned from Dongqi this time, I encountered many interceptions along the way, and even lost my life on the way.

“Emperor, dare to ask, with the current strength in the emperor’s hands, can he easily eradicate the party of the King of Huainan?” Yang Ning knew that Longtai was talking to him sincerely, so he didn’t hide it, and his words were very straightforward.

Long Tai said: “Qining, I will tell you the truth. When the late emperor was alive, he always worried that the King of Huainan would become a threat to me one day. Son, Emperor Taizong and the previous emperors all thought of Emperor Taizu’s long grace, and they have always tried their best to appease King Huainan. Even if King Huainan occasionally does something outrageous, he is forgiving.” After a pause, he said: “King Huainan This person is very cunning. Although there are many people in the court to speak for him, he himself has always been behind the scenes and never shows up easily. He looks like a happy prince who only knows how to find pleasure. drop him.”

“The late emperor made great efforts to rule, coupled with the repeated wars, I’m afraid he didn’t have much thought to deal with him.” Qi Ning sighed, “In addition to the fact that he has been in contact with the Northern Han people all these years, the late emperor also does not want the Huainan king to cause trouble. Internal turmoil in Great Chu.”

Longtai was a little stunned and said: “You understand even this?” With a smile: “It seems that after you came to Beijing, you don’t only know about the world.”

“Your Majesty, you have wronged me.” Qi Ning immediately said, “I’m not spending time and money. I’m staying in the Jinyi Hou Mansion. It’s impossible to know these things.”

Longtai sighed: “Yes, what the late emperor meant, if the King of Huainan could be honest, the imperial court would not be too embarrassing for him. The late emperor himself did not expect that he would suddenly become seriously ill, otherwise it would not be the current situation. .” His expression darkened.

“A lot of people didn’t expect the death of the late emperor.” Qi Ning said, “The power of the Huainan king has not been eliminated by the late emperor, so he still has a deep foundation, plus that old guy has always coveted the throne, this kind of person We can’t do it.”

“Old guy?” Long Tai was stunned, and then smiled: “Yes, that old guy is my uncle, but he always regards me as an enemy.”

“Since the King of Huainan is deeply rooted, if the emperor cannot rely on his own strength to restrain him, he must find an opponent to deal with him.” Qi Ning smiled, “Don’t the emperor think the Marquis of Zhongyi is an excellent candidate?”

Longtai nodded slightly and said: “Of course I understand this point, naturally I can’t let the King of Huainan’s family do whatever they want. The late emperor also told me that we should reuse the Hou Zhongyi to check and balance the King of Huainan. It’s just that I am worried that if I let it go. Marquis of Zhongyi, he is more and more inflated,

At that time, I will be raising tigers.

”

After all, Qi Ning has lived in two lifetimes and has decades of life experience. In addition, he has seen some books and films about emperors and generals in his previous life, so it is not uncommon to know the art of balance. Not only considering the check and balance of the court, but even considering the issue of raising tigers, his mind is indeed meticulous.

“That’s why I say it’s three birds with one stone. The second gain will not only make the Marquis of Zhongyi stronger and compete with the King of Huainan, but the most important thing is that once the Marquis of Zhongyi takes the position of Duke, it will inevitably cause many people’s resentment. “Yang Ning smiled and said: “Those officials who oppose the King of Huainan, at this time, will definitely be loyal to the emperor with the Hou Zhongyi as the head. If the Hou Zhongyi is low-key and cautious, those people will definitely admire the Hou Zhongyi and admire him. Your character, Your Majesty, don’t you think this is a troublesome thing?”

The dishes on the table were all made by the royal chef in the palace. They were full of color, fragrance and steam. For Qi Ning, it was a big temptation. But at this time, the little emperor didn’t put his mind on the meal, and even put down his chopsticks. , Qi Ning can only be reserved, it is not good to eat.

Longtai’s eyes lit up, looking a little excited, but he reached out to grab Qi Ning’s arm and said, “You mean…you mean to let those ministers walk with Marquis Zhongyi, but at the same time treat him Disgusted?”

Qi Ning smiled and said, “The more powerful and arrogant the Marquis of Loyalty is, the more arrogant they will be, the more disgusted they will be from the ministers, and they will not be completely of one mind with him. One day the emperor will be able to use people better.”

Longtai clapped his hands and smiled and said, “Qining, you are very cunning.” Then he asked, “You said that you can kill three birds with one stone. What is another one?”

Qi Ning said: “This is the emperor’s good opportunity. Your Majesty, please tell me bluntly, you have also said that the late emperor suddenly suffered from a serious illness and suddenly passed away. Naturally, the emperor did not give you too many opportunities to experience. You have just To ascend the throne, of course, there will not be too many confidants.”

When Longtai heard the words, he said helplessly: “Actually, everyone in the world thinks that when I become the emperor, I can do anything, only I know that sitting in this seat is really not very good, not only can I go anywhere as you like. No matter what you do, you have to obey the rules even when you eat and sleep.” Pointing to the dishes on the table, he said, “When I was still the prince, I used to have dozens of dishes for each meal, and I didn’t think it was anything, but I came back from Dongqi. On the way, I also saw the hardships of the people, many people not to mention eating these delicacies, they may not even have a bowl of rice.” He smiled bitterly: “Before I sent an ambassador to Dongqi, I didn’t think of my people in Dachu. It was so hard.”

When Qi Ning heard Longtai revealing his true feelings, he was actually sympathetic to the hardships of the people, and immediately gave a hint of respect, and asked, “Does the emperor see the hardships of the people?”

Long Tai said: “In order to avoid obstacles, the mission was divided into three groups, and they all secretly returned to the capital of Jianye, just to distract the opponent’s attention. Master Xiang and I took four entourages all the way back to Beijing, and were assassinated several times along the way. Those four entourages all died to protect me, and I saw the refugees along the Huai River on the way…!” He shook his head and smiled bitterly: “They really have no means of food or clothing, I thought at that time, ministers every day Everyone is saying that my country in Great Chu is prosperous and peaceful, and it is rich and prosperous, but why can’t the people of my Great Chu drink even a bowl of porridge after the war? .!”

Qi Ning’s expression also became serious. Although he had never been to the forefront of the war, he could already feel the misery of the refugees in Huize City.

“I swore at that time that if I become the emperor, what I will do in my life is to make sure that the people of the world don’t have to suffer from war, and they can eat enough to eat and wear warm clothes.” Longtai’s tone became firmer. Get up: “I used to think that it would be easy to do this, it seems that it is not difficult to eat enough and clothe yourself, but now I understand that if this simplest wish is really to be achieved, it may not be possible to exhaust my life, but I will definitely try my best to do it, if I can’t do it, let my son do it, if he can’t do it, let my grandson do it, until one day, the people of the world will have no worries about food and clothing.”

Qi Ning’s heart trembled.

It seems that many emperors have said this, but it is the first time I have heard it from an emperor, and it is not for the purpose of whitewashing his ambitions. His tone is sincere. desire.

Qi Ning didn’t know what kind of road he would face in the future, let alone what kind of emperor Longtai would become in the future, but being able to care about people’s hardships and to make such a simple but shining ambition really touched Qi Ning. heartstrings.

He knew that, at least at this moment, Longtai was a good emperor.

“Emperor, I believe you will be able to do it.” Qi Ning stared into the eyes of the little emperor, “So the emperor must recharge his batteries and slowly make himself stronger. Only a strong emperor can fulfill his wish. He lowered his voice and said, “So the emperor must have available people. These people must be loyal to the emperor and help the emperor to fulfill his wish.”

Longtai smiled bitterly and said, “But what I lack most right now is someone close to my heart.” Looking at Qi Ning, he said, “Apart from Master Xiang, I can only tell you the truth now, Qi Ning, do you know that I have some? At that time, I really felt… very lonely, the palace was full of splendour and splendid, but sometimes I always felt that I was the only one in the grand palace, and many of those palace maids and eunuchs I knew when I was very young. , but… Sometimes when they are by my side, I feel that they are like those tables and chairs. When I talk to them, all of them are submissive, for fear of saying the wrong thing. They spoke.”

Qi Ning said with a smile: “It’s not easy for the emperor to talk, I am your servant now, if you are bored, you can talk to me at any time, but the emperor wants to promise me, I am a person sometimes. If you say you’re happy, you won’t be measured, and if you say something outrageous, you won’t be able to chop me off at every turn.”

“Are you afraid that I will cut your head off?” Longtai was startled, then laughed and said: “It’s okay, I promise you, as long as you and I are of one mind, even if you say the wrong thing and do the wrong thing one day, I will not care about you. .”

Qi Ning smiled and said, “Your Majesty, I’m going to say something outrageous right now, don’t blame me.”

Longtai seemed very interested and said, “You say it.”

“A companion is like a tiger.” Qi Ning sighed: “The emperor is in a good mood now, and he can make any promises. If one day he is in a bad mood and I just happen to make a mistake, the emperor will go back and ask my head. what to do?”

“Nonsense.” Long Tai was a little annoyed: “I’ve always said what I said, why do I go back on my word?” Huo Ran got up, Yang Ning thought that the little emperor was going to turn his face, but saw him quickly walk to the edge of the desk, took out the pen and ink, and swayed it. Ziru immediately took a piece of gold seal and pressed it on the paper, then walked back with the piece of paper, handed it to Qi Ning, and said, “You have it for me, I’ll keep my word.”

Qi Ning took it and glanced at it, and there was a promise of forgiveness written on it. As long as he was loyal to the emperor and worked for the court, even if he committed a serious crime, he could be forgiven.

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