Plan to cut off the nine states

(Please collect and recommend)

The emperor dropped a question, turned the horse's head, and continued galloping.

The noble attendants mounted their horses one after another, chasing the emperor while thinking about how to answer. If you don't speak, it will be a waste of a precious opportunity. If you are not careful, you will offend the general, and more seriously, you may offend the emperor.

But while running and talking, everyone has to raise their voices and speak concisely and to the point. They don’t have the energy to think deeply. The longer they run, the less they care about who they offend and they tend to blurt out their words.

"Unacceptable!" A guard clapped his horse and sped up to approach the emperor, speaking out of breath, "The general is the mainstay of the country. The court is hiring people, how can he cut off his wrist? I guess the general is just being polite..."

Another guard caught up and said, "After the assassination incident, the general blamed himself and thought he should be responsible for it. Returning the seal is an apology. If your majesty thinks that the general is innocent, you should not take it back!"

The third guard spoke, staying further away, and shouting loudly, "The seal of command can be taken back! The general has long lost his courage, so we can take advantage of Qinzhou's quelling the chaos to select new generals!"

Another guard rushed up and said, "Who should lead the army should be decided by the imperial court. If the general returns the seal without any reason, he commits the crime of disrespect. The imperial court should take away the seal and issue an edict to punish him!"

Lou Chu was not good at riding and was a newcomer, so he controlled his horse carefully and said nothing. However, the emperor did not forget him. He suddenly reined in his horse and turned around, asking directly: "Lou Chu, why don't you speak?"

Lou Chu was originally following behind, but without stopping for a moment, he ran over and hurriedly turned around and came back, saying: "A son does not speak of his father. I dare not speak nonsense about the general's petition."

"Father and son have a way, so do monarchs and ministers. Lords and ministers come before father and son. Lou Chi, you are now a minister in front of me. You should know that you should say everything you want and say everything you say."

In front of the emperor, any shirk would be a dead end. The foundation tightened the reins and said: "The common people obey the decree..."

"If you are a commoner, how can the ordinary people outside deal with themselves?" This is the emperor's habit. He will catch every little mistake and make the other party unable to guard against it, and he will always be in awe.

"Wei Chen..." Seeing that the emperor had no objection, Lou Chu continued, "Wei Chen must see the memorial given by the general and find out the reason why the general handed over his seal before he can make any suggestions."

The emperor smiled and said: "You are the son of the general, and you have been following the general for the past two days. You don't know what is written in the memorial?"

"As Your Majesty said, kings and ministers come before father and son. A general manages a family as well as an army. The memorials he writes can only be seen by the scribes around him, but not by his children and grandchildren."

"Haha, the general has a strict family tradition. Shao Junqian!"

Shao Junqian accompanied the emperor into the garden. He was the only attendant who did not ride a horse. He stood at the gate of the garden with a group of eunuchs. When he heard the emperor's call, he ran over immediately. Although he exhausted all his strength, he could only run quickly.

The emperor turned to Zhang Shiduan and said, "Look, he looks like a duck, or a female duck."

Zhang Shiduan burst into laughter, hurriedly held it back, and reminded: "Your Majesty cares."

The emperor did not listen to the advice and asked loudly to Shao Junqian who was running over: "Shao Junqian, where is your little duck? Did you lose it?"

The horse-riding attendant burst into laughter, and Shao Junqian stopped panting, with a simple and honest smile on her face, "The old duck is looking for food, and the little duck is left to fend for itself."

Everyone laughed louder, and the emperor became more and more complacent, "No joke, Lou Chu wants to know the content of the general's memorial. Tell him."

Shao Junqian immediately backtracked and said: "Your Majesty An Guogong Wen Jin reported: Last month, I was ordered to take charge of the Western Army, organize the weapons and troops, and make plans according to the plan. Fortunately, there was a strong assistance from the Secretary, and the local government sent troops and food in time, and it took more than half a month. The army was ready and was about to start, but it was waiting for the Holy Order. Suddenly, I heard the sound of police in the capital, saying that there were villains disturbing the Holy Master. I have been favored and stayed in the palace for a long time. Ten days have passed, but I still haven't found the villain's companions. I am filled with anger and shame, my body and mind are ruined, and I am in panic all day long. I just think that the guard is big and the Western Expedition is very important. Temporarily abolished. I risk my life..."

The title of the general is An Guogong, which is rarely used in ordinary times and is only used when writing letters.

The emperor raised his hand, stopped Shao Junqian, and said to Lou Chu: "That's probably what he meant. The general claimed that he was overworked and blamed himself for the assassination. His body was overwhelmed, so he wanted to hand over the seal of command."

Lou Chu secretly admired Shao Junqian, but other attendants took it for granted. Shao Junqian was like a walking secretary, with a photographic memory. When the emperor asked casually, he answered fluently.

"Wei Chen believes that the etiquette between a monarch and his ministers is to give priority to the general. If the general gives his seal, your majesty should issue an edict to comfort him. This should be done again and again to gauge the general's ambition."

"You humble me, at least three times, and as many as nine or ten times. This is the court's practice. You don't need to say it. I only ask you three or ten times. What will happen after that? I have to give the general a final answer."

Lou Chi had vaguely guessed the emperor's intention and replied: "I think that the old man is brave and has great ambitions. Although the general is old and sick, his knowledge is not diminished and his prestige is getting stronger. For the sake of the court, it is better to still let the general seal his palm, and then By sending another deputy general, he can not only share the workload of the general, but also take the opportunity to test the general's talent."

The emperor sneered, but did not object, "There is a way. Who should I choose as lieutenant?"

"I know the general Mo Ruojun. I know very little about military affairs and dare not deal with it carelessly."

The emperor did not press the question this time and turned to the other attendants, "What do you think?"

Each of the attendants had recommendations, either from famous generals in the court or from members of the clan. The emperor nodded while listening, and finally asked one of the attendants: "Do you think the King of Jibei is suitable?"

The attendant thought he had guessed the emperor's thoughts, and was overjoyed. He hurriedly replied: "The King of Jibei is brave and resourceful. He followed the previous emperor to fight in all directions when he was less than ten years old, as far as Mobei. He is also your Majesty's brother, so he can take on important tasks and learn military affairs from the general. There is one thing, he cannot be a deputy general, but he can be a military supervisor, on an equal footing with the general."

"The King of Jibei doesn't like fighting as much as he did when he was a child. Now he just drinks, no matter how much he drinks, he is just a wine jar. But you are right, it is indeed necessary to choose someone from the royal family to serve as the deputy general."

The emperor did not want to stay there and think, so he galloped away. The attendants were divided into two groups, one group followed closely, and the other group stayed there to discuss.

Zhang Shiduan said to Lou Chu: "Now you can speak, who do you want to recommend?"

Lou Chu smiled bitterly and said: "I really have no choice."

Zhang Shiduan said to Shao Junqian: "You know your majesty's mind best, tell me."

Shao Junqian also smiled bitterly, "I am just your majesty's pen, I dictate and listen, and write down the chapter. I am afraid that I will write a wrong word. How can I have the energy to guess your majesty's thoughts?"

Zhang Shiduan looked at the others and murmured: "I have to speak."

The emperor ran two laps, returned to the original place and stopped, looking around.

Zhang Shiduan said, "Your Majesty, I recommend someone."

When the emperor looked at the prince of Guangling, his eyes softened, as if he was looking at his favorite son, "Oh, tell me about it."

"The prince is the most suitable."

The emperor laughed, and immediately an attendant objected, "The prince is the crown prince of the country, and he is young, how can he be placed in the army?"

Zhang Shiduan really knew the emperor best, "Otherwise, the prince is young, similar to the King of Jibei back then, the King of Jibei had gone deep into the Mobei , His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can naturally go west to Qinzhou. The art of an emperor is to combine civil and military skills. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is making progress in literature and is praised by his good teacher. It is time for him to learn martial arts as well. "

The emperor said: "Well, I already know what you mean. The letter and reply should be sent back and forth at least three times. Let me think about it slowly. Shao Junqian, prepare to write it down."

Shao Junqian always carries a knife in the palace. The emperor said that he writes casually, and the characters are mostly simple. Only he can recognize them. He will rewrite them on paper later.

The emperor's reply was very simple. He praised the general for his hard work and merits. Finally, in the name of the country, he asked the general to try his best to command the army.

Just listening to these words, this is a very normal emperor. He is majestic when he should be majestic and modest when he should be modest. Only the close attendants standing beside him know how tyrannical the emperor is.

The emperor spent most of the day on horseback, riding, chatting, and reviewing memorials. Shao Junqian was very busy, as she had to use more than a dozen wooden blocks and run around the venue, which was more tiring than riding a horse.

The emperor finally wanted to rest, and the attendants dispersed. Lou Chu was not good at riding, and after getting off the horse, he felt sore all over his body and could not close his legs. Although he tried to control himself, his walking posture was still weird.

Zhang Shiduan had long been used to it, and there was nothing wrong with it. He just had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He ran over and said with a smile: "Mr. Lou, don't you usually ride a horse?"

"I don't ride much."

"It doesn't matter, it will be fine in two days. When you feel the benefits, you will like the speed of horseback. It's a pity that the divine horse is hard to come by, and Zishi Garden is too small to enjoy it freely. Tonight in Guiyuan, Mr. Lou must come."

Lou Chu nodded, and when there was no one around, he whispered: "Don't let Prince Guangling return to Beijing."

Zhang Shiduan was stunned, and immediately smiled, "Mr. Lou thinks too much."

Lou Chu couldn't say anything more, bowed and said goodbye, and followed the eunuch back to the general's temporary shogunate.

The general happened to have nothing to do, so he drank tea with two staff members. When he saw Lou Chu, he immediately asked: "What's going on?"

"Your Majesty wants the prince to supervise the army and go west with the general."

"Prince...how old is he?" The general looked at the staff members whenever he had doubts.

Qiao Zhisu said, "The prince is young, but the people around him are not young. I guess that's what your majesty meant."

"The East Palace has many teachers and friends. Who will your majesty send to supervise the prince?"

"Liang Shengzhi." Lou Chu answered, and immediately added, "I guess it will be him."

"Who is Liang Shengzhi... I remember, the grandson of Liang Taifu." The general said, "No need to guess, it must be him. Your majesty respects literature and suppresses military power, and wants to use these weak scholars to replace us veterans on the battlefield."

The general sighed several times and said to Lou Chu, "Not bad, you are better than the hard fat man, you can find out something."

Lou Chu shook his head, "The child dare not take credit, in fact, your majesty has consulted everyone's opinions and has not concealed anything."

"Your majesty is... testing me in return." Lou Wen's satisfaction with his son immediately decreased a little, "It turns out that you are also a mouthpiece."

Lou Chu did not refute.

The two staff members were the best at observing words and expressions. After sitting for a while, they each found an excuse to leave.

Lou Wen then said to his son: "Come and sit down, and try the tribute tea from the palace. It doesn't have any special taste, but it's expensive. It's said that it's worth as much as gold if you take it outside."

Lou Chu walked over and sat down, changed the cup and poured the tea himself, and tasted it. "It's light at first, and there's a lingering fragrance. It's really a good tea."

"Hey, if I didn't tell you that this is tribute tea, you might not be able to taste the goodness. It doesn't matter. The descendants of the Lou family don't rely on tasting tea to make a living."

"Father is right. Tea is the same tea. Once you enter the palace, your value will increase a hundred times."

The general stared at his son and said coldly: "You are really the remnant of the Wu Kingdom. You want to make trouble whenever you have the chance. What does 'value a hundred times' mean? Do you think I can't hear it?"