The Child Emperor

The controversy outside is still going on, the Grand Tutor Cui Hong who was entrusted with the important task declined in every possible way, and other ministers recommended it with all their strength, as if there was no second person in the whole world who could be compared with Taifu Cui.

King Donghai leaned sideways against the door, listened for a while, took a few steps back, touched his chin, frowned and pondered, "The empress dowager's move is really insidious. On the surface, she is dealing with King Qi, but in fact she wants to take the opportunity to squeeze my uncle Leaving the capital will make the rest of the Cui family hostage, killing two birds with one stone."

Han Ruzi shook his head, "This is not killing two birds with one stone. I guess the Queen Mother is showing favor to Taifu Cui, hoping to reconcile with him."

"Huh?" The King of the East China Sea squinted at Han Ruzi dissatisfied, "What do you know, the power struggle is more fierce than the battlefield of real swords and guns, the Cui family and the Shangguan family... Forget it, you don't understand, what do you even think about the Queen Mother?" She doesn't even know what she looks like, but it's ridiculous to guess what she thinks here."

There was only a half-hidden door between them, Han Ruzi really wanted to go out and see what the queen mother who decided his fate looked like, but he didn't move, he obeyed Yang Feng's instructions, listen more and talk less, even if he was ridiculed by the king of the East China Sea, he didn't talk back .

The debate outside is still going on. The queen mother offered many favorable conditions, more troops, more power, and even allowed Cui Hong to act arbitrarily in Qi. Cui Hong could no longer refuse, but it was clear that he promised Very reluctantly, with a lot of doubts in my heart.

"How can uncle agree?" Donghai King was anxious in the warm pavilion, pacing back and forth, "As soon as he leaves, the Queen Mother will attack the entire Cui family. No matter how many troops there are outside, it is useless. No, I have to Go out and remind him."

The king of the East China Sea pushed open a crack in the door, slipped out sideways, and closed the door behind him. Han Ruzi only saw a mass of moving heads, but could not see the empress dowager.

The crusade against Qi is not just as simple as appointing a general, is it the courtesy first and the soldiers? Or go straight in and directly attack King Qi's palace city? The ministers have different opinions, and there are still many details, such as which places to recruit troops, which princes should be recruited, which should be guarded against, and so on.

Unfamiliar place names, official names, personal names and many past events popped up one after another, and Han Ruzi had no time to remember them. After listening for a long time, he slowly sorted out the clues and had a rough understanding of Dachu Jiangshan.

It seems that Emperor Wu was responsible for the disaster. In his later years, he was very suspicious and unwilling to establish a prince. At the same time, he gave almost every son a little hope. He just wanted to solve this serious problem, but unfortunately, he had to deal with too many things in just three years, and he couldn't spare his hands.

The content of the discussions among the ministers became more and more trivial. Han Ruzi sat down on a chair, thought about it for a while, and still felt that the Queen Mother was showing favor, rather than designing to frame the Cui family.

He felt a little dizzy, the task assigned by Yang Feng was really too difficult, far beyond the limit of a thirteen-year-old boy. Han Ruzi closed his eyes and rested for a while, then opened his eyes to look at Meng E by the window, and said with a smile, "Is your injury okay?"

Perhaps because of the presence of other people, Meng E was more indifferent than usual, and waited for a while before barely uttering two words: "It's okay."

Han Ruzi took out a paper bag from his bosom and spread it out on several tables. Inside was the sweet-scented osmanthus cake he had specially left for dinner. He picked up a piece by himself and said to Meng E and another court lady: "You are also hungry. Bar."

Meng E looked away.

"You guys have to eat too. People outside are very busy, so they won't think about it for a while, so it's good to eat something to fill your stomach." Han Ruzi smiled at the maid in the corner.

Just as Meng E was about to open her mouth to speak, another court lady spoke first, her voice was rough, it was indeed a man, most likely a man without a clean body, "Sister, don't listen to him, we are not from the palace, so we don't need to curry favor emperor."

"So you are brother and sister, what's your name?" Han Ruzi made up his mind to continue the conversation, he had something to ask.

The man took half a step forward, his eyes were cold, "Use your tricks on others, we don't get involved in the affairs of the palace."

"Aren't you protecting me?"

"We're just following orders."

"At whose order?"

The man took another half step forward, and Meng E by the window said, "He's still a child."

The man didn't think so, "You heard what the eunuch Yang Feng said, this is an ambitious child, a wolf who has not grown up, no different from other people in the palace, if he gains power, he will still be a fool."

Meng E didn't speak again, Han Ruzi was very surprised, why did the Meng brothers and sisters hate the palace so much, why did they enter the palace to serve as guards?

"I'm just a 'faint lord' who wants to live." Han Ruzi was not angry, but admired Meng E's straightforwardness. "Like you, I don't like palaces. I would rather live in the back alleys with my mother. If I can give I have a choice, and I will refuse to be emperor without hesitation."

Han Ruzi's words were not completely sincere, he liked to be an emperor a little bit, but he had to be a real emperor, as he was now in name only, and his life was always in danger, he would rather go out of the palace and be a commoner.

"A moment ago you were still learning the art of being an emperor, so you don't want to be an emperor now?" Brother Meng E looked at his sister, "People in the palace are all so treacherous, you must always be careful, never..."

Someone opened the door and came in. Brother Meng E retreated to the wall and resumed his status as a living statue.

The king of Donghai saw the cakes on the table at a glance, strode over, grabbed a piece and stuffed it into his mouth, "I'm starving to death, everyone is so busy attacking King Qi, they completely forgot about me, an upright prince. "

"Have you talked to Mrs. Cui?" Han Ruzi asked.

The King of East China Sea shook his head and swallowed the food in his mouth, "No need, my uncle and I have a good heart, and he will understand with a wink. Now I am making a condition with the Queen Mother. It is okay to want my uncle to take risks, but don't try to do anything." With the strategy of 'tuning the tiger away from the mountain', even if the tiger leaves the mountain, the mountain is still the tiger's territory."

The voice outside was much quieter and could not be heard clearly. Han Ruzi imagined the situation outside, and said to King Donghai, "Your uncle should take Liu Jie away."

"Liu Jie? He's dead. Why take him away? You don't understand this kind of thing at all, so don't interrupt." The king of Donghai shook the teapot on the table and found it was empty. He said to the two silent court ladies : "It seems impossible for you to do some work, tsk tsk, where did the Queen Mother find someone? It's really... independent."

Han Ruzi approached the king of the East China Sea, "Go outside and ask for a pot of tea, just say it's for me, and then tell your uncle with your eyes, let him ask the queen mother for Liu Jie and his fellow assassins, and bring them to the state of Qi to confront the king of Qi."

The King of Donghai looked at the emperor up and down, "You are crazy, you really treat me as a follower, and you let me do this kind of thing? The Cui family will not lose power, and we must win in the end."

"The Empress Dowager and Mrs. Cui are suspicious of each other, the longer the stalemate, the more unfavorable it will be for both parties..."

"It is the Queen Mother who should give in!" The King of Donghai said angrily, regardless of the presence of the two court ladies, "She is threatening the whole world. If uncle didn't give in back then, the Queen Mother would kill us both. A reason for King Qi’s rebellion. She has succeeded once, and she wants to do it again? No, absolutely not this time.”

"The queen mother will give in. Before, the queen mother had nothing in her hands, so she threatened the whole world. Now she has the world in her hands, and she will not take any more risks. As long as she agrees to hand over Liu Jie and the assassins to Taifu Cui, it will show that She's giving in."

The King of Donghai frowned more and more, and looked at the emperor again, "What did someone say to you?"

"No." Having said that, Han Ruzi glanced at Brother Meng E in the corner, "There are many doubts about the assassination. Now that the assassin committed suicide, only a few accomplices and Liu Jie, the chief seal, are left. Who controls them... "

"Anyone can explain the assassination incident at will." Donghai King finally came to his senses, "If the queen mother refuses to hand over the assassin's accomplices, it shows that she really wants to put my uncle and King Qi to death, so let's just kill my uncle and break the net." If she hands it over, my uncle will have a handle, um..."

The king of Donghai stared at the emperor, as if he wanted to take his heart out with his eyes, and suddenly turned and walked to the door, slipped out sideways, an eunuch glanced into the warm pavilion through the crack of the door, and closed the door.

Grand Tutor Cui Hong's voice just happened to come from outside, "Qi has a vast territory and many troops. I'm afraid it will be difficult to win with the garrisons in the Kanto counties alone. It will only shame the court..."

Cui Hong still refused to take office immediately, and was looking for various reasons to delay the time. As the two major foreign relatives, the Cui family and the Shangguan family were too afraid of each other, and it was difficult to gain mutual trust. Let's be clearer: The Shangguan family and the Cui family are maintaining a balance. Although they are fragile, they will not be broken for a while. The uncontrolled Qi State, which is thousands of miles away, is the biggest threat facing both sides.

After all, Han Ruzi didn't understand the Queen Mother's character, maybe she just wanted to solve the internal troubles of the Cui family and the foreign troubles of the King of Qi at the same time, but Han Ruzi had to make this assumption, because he still wanted to save the life of Liu Jie, the chief seal.

"Sometimes being treacherous is to save people." Han Ruzi said to Meng E's brother.

If Liu Jie goes to prison normally, he will definitely die. If he is transferred to Cui Hong as a handle, he may be able to live longer. Han Ruzi can only do this. Yang Feng warned not to interfere, but he feels that if he does not do it for Liu Jie Ordering something will not only make you feel uneasy, but also make you more trapped within ten steps.

Elder brother Meng E shook his head, "I've seen a lot of ways to buy people's hearts. You're still too young. Even if Liu Jie escaped, you're not the one to thank."

"I don't expect to be grateful, but... my mother once said to me, 'Life is never beautiful, and it is even worse if you accept your fate.' Even in a small house, my mother never let me idle , I think I have formed a habit, no matter what, I have to do something."

Elder Meng E looked at his younger sister and reminded, "Be careful, it's not Liu Jie that the emperor wants to bribe, it's you and me."

Han Ruzi smiled, the frankness here was in stark contrast to the suspicion and temptation outside.

The king of the East China Sea came back, his face sank like water, and Han Ruzi was startled, "Can't you talk to Mrs. Cui? Or does the Queen Mother disagree?"

"Uncle knew what I wanted to say just by the shape of my mouth, and the Queen Mother also agreed." Donghai King's expression became more and more gloomy.

Han Ruzi didn't care about the moody King of the East China Sea, but this time it was different. The King of the East China Sea approached and said in a low voice, "You're going to have a queen."

"What?" Han Ruzi was really startled.

"My uncle's daughter is going to enter the palace to be a queen." Donghai King blushed more and more, "She should have married me, you bastard!"

(seeking collection and recommendation)