Disturbing people's sleep, God will strike you with lightning!

When Yongchang Hou was tortured, a bloody hole was left every time he was stabbed with a knife. He just bit the cloth strip and groaned, without wailing or begging for mercy.

- Normally, this kind of punishment would not be carried out, but Yongchang Hou himself insisted on adding another punishment to the original punishment.

He did not lose his title, but he also suffered a lot. The eighty adopted sons were arrested and punished. Some of them were so sinful that they were directly pushed out and beheaded. Yongchang Hou did not even plead for mercy. When the matter was settled, he took some wine, drank a bowl with his adopted sons, and severed the father-son relationship.

Eighty adopted sons were equivalent to eighty people who formed a party for personal gain, and each of them was a strong and healthy military general.

They should have been separated long ago.

＊

The old emperor pondered for a moment. Today, the bloody smell was too strong. A good celebration banquet was ruined.

It was time to take a shower.

"Sister, what do you think we can do to wash away the bloody smell today?"

Empress Dou, who was sitting next to him, said, "Reward."

Giving money is the most joyful thing.

The old emperor coughed and said, "Change someone else."

Empress Dou: "..."

[Really digging the door. 】

The old emperor: "?!"

His eyes widened.

How did Xu Yanmiao hear the whispers between him and the empress from this position? !

He took a quick look and found that the other party was sitting in his seat, staring blankly at the air, obviously looking at something.

——He used the system again.

The old emperor looked at Xu Yanmiao dimly, and continued to say to Empress Dou: "Rewards are too expensive. We have already rewarded the generals before. If we reward the officials in Beijing again, I am afraid that the private treasury will spend too much."

What's wrong with him being stingy!

Although gold and silver mines have been discovered, there is no need to spend money elsewhere! Save as much as possible!

The old emperor thought about it and decided to give some rewards that do not require gold and silver treasures, and purely honorary rewards: "I heard that there are talented people in the wild before. This is your fault for not being able to promote the virtuous and dismiss the unworthy. Now that you are all here and it is a celebration banquet, you should at least recommend one person, regardless of whether he is civil or military." Xu Yanmiao

reflexively looked down at the bamboo slips on which he had just memorized the names.

[Who dares to recommend now?]

Then it suddenly dawned on him: [Oh! Anyway, the ministers don’t know about the screen. Even the eighty-year-old adopted son just now seems like a coincidence, like pulling out a radish and bringing out mud.]

Sorry, we know.

The ministers looked down at the things on their desks.

Ah, this tea looks so bright, so moist, so pure white, and the tea leaves are so tender. Ah

, the decorations on this silk belt seem a little crooked, let me take a closer look. Ah

...

Anyway, the heads were lowered and the mouths were closed, and no one was the first to stand up and recommend.

The old emperor was not annoyed, and said slowly: "Anonymous."

*

The anonymity in the emperor's mouth probably meant that the officials whispered to the clerks, and the clerks wrote the name and the reason for the recommendation at the back, without leaving the name at the bottom.

He made a strict requirement: "Everyone should recommend at least one person."

Xu Yanmiao had a headache. After thinking about it,

he still didn't know who he could recommend. —— He didn't pay much attention to this. He

almost broke his head before he carefully pushed a name up, and then secretly observed others.

As soon as he saw it, his heart skipped a beat.

It seems that... everyone seems to be very confident?

*

The incense in the incense burner next to him slowly burned out, and several stacks of paper slips were handed to the old emperor. The old emperor looked down for a while at first, and soon, he handed it to the eunuch to read it out loud, so that it would be convenient for him and the ministers to listen.

"I recommend Zhai Shang, a doctor of the Imperial College. After studying hard, he bought some pancakes in the market and ate them while walking. Although he is a doctor, he can humble himself and have fun with the people. He is so simple and kind to the people. He can be a good official."

Xu Yanmiao looked around for people.

Lian Hang whispered, "The person sitting behind Yang Wuhou is Doctor Zhai."

Xu Yanmiao recognized Yang Wuhou, and he quickly locked onto a person, then his expression became subtle, "Why do I feel that the doctor doesn't look very happy?"

Lian Hang raised his hand, covered his mouth with his fist and coughed lightly, "Xu Lang, do you think this is really sharing happiness with the people?"

Xu Yanmiao was stunned, "Ah? No?"

"For officials, this is actually inappropriate. If no one sees it, or the people who see it don't care, it's ok. But if they are seen, others will use this to impeach them, and they may be directly exiled from the capital. Now someone is using recommendation as impeachment."

This is similar to the "ritual of having sex once every five days". If you don't meet someone who wants to mess with you, it's okay. But once you meet someone who wants to mess with you, you're done.

——Of course, in a society ruled by man, it depends on what the emperor thinks.

Xu Lang's pupils trembled.

[It's over! I've done this more than once! Not only do I eat cakes while walking, I also eat meatballs, melon seeds, duck feet, and chestnuts... Whatever snacks are on the road, I eat them! ]

[What should I do, have we been seen? ]

The historians: "..."

What a big fish.

But...

sighed silently.

This one can't move. Let's find fault with others.

Zhai Shang glanced at Xu Yanmiao with resentment. Although he knew that Xu Lang didn't do it on purpose, and that he had a magic weapon on him that he couldn't compare with, but when the time came, he was still so jealous, damn it.

The old emperor recalled who Zhai Shang was in his mind. When he found that he could not remember, he said lightly: "Zhai Shang's behavior is not elegant and out of touch."

If he could remember, or had a good impression of him, or it was useful, he would just let it go.

The officialdom is such a realistic place.

——In other words, no one can say that this is not a recommendation. If the emperor really thinks that your behavior is simple and people-friendly, then you can be promoted. If not, it means that the emperor does not want you.

At this moment, Zhai Shang's mentality has been very peaceful. He stood up and bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I feel guilty and have failed your Majesty's expectations. I will not be able to see your face in the future. I only hope that Your Majesty will be healthy and healthy for a long time."

The eunuch began to read the second anonymous recommendation: "I recommend Zhao Li, the younger brother of the Marquis of Hongyang, the disciple of Prime Minister Dou, and the Confucian scholar without an official position. He has great talents and can build peace for all generations."

Even Xu Yanmiao could hear something wrong.

With the old emperor's character, "the younger brother of the Marquis of Hongyang" and "the disciple of Prime Minister Dou", this is not a serious recommendation at all.

Prime Minister Dou looked around and sneered.

He didn't know which political enemy had targeted him.

He had no intention of recommending his student at all, but wanted him to participate in the first-class shooting examination and win with his talent, so that he would be valued by His Majesty.

But now...

Prime Minister Dou and Marquis Hongyang looked at each other, and they knew what the other was thinking.

- This man must be found out!

The old emperor took these undercurrents in his eyes, and remained calm. He did not say to summon this person to the front of the palace to make a response, but he did not say that he would not use him at all. He just signaled the eunuch to continue. Some

of the recommendations that followed were real recommendations, while others were ulterior motives, which made Xu Yanmiao dazzled and excited in his heart.

The officialdom is terrible, but it is also really lively.

For example, a fiefdom far away.

The third son of the emperor, the prince named "Fu", stroked the big white snakes on his arms and waist to cool off, feeling the wet touch, with a smile on his face: "Did the King of Jibei rebel?"

The guard who brought the information added: "The rebellion has ended and he was arrested."

Prince Fu paused.

The guard was hinted by his master's eyes and added more considerately: "From the beginning of the rebellion to the arrest, it was said that it was only two hours."

Then he detailed the means of his rebellion.

Prince Fu: "..."

Caressing the cool skin of his beloved baby, Prince Fu cursed: "Stupid and useless, how dare you rebel." He

glanced at the guards and said: "You go down first - no, you go and ask Liu Changshi to come over."

"Yes."

After the guards retreated, Prince Fu bent down and scooped up a stream of artificial spring water. The spring water was clear and cold. The big white snake splashed into the water, swinging its tail, and the splashing water splashed Prince Fu's face and body. Prince

Fu wiped his wet face with his sleeves, and strands of water flowed down from his hair.

"Brother." He smiled, as if he had just discovered something new: "It turns out that you can die." If

you die, only the legitimate son will have a chance.

——Among all the sons born to the empress, only the eldest son can be called the legitimate son. The rest of the males, no matter their mother is the empress or the concubine, should be called illegitimate sons according to etiquette.

As for Prince Fu, you can tell from his title that he is not born to the empress. For the old emperor, the sons of the empress must of course have extremely noble titles, such as Qin, Han, and Tang, which are the names of ancient countries. As for those who are not born to the empress, it is enough to use auspicious titles such as "Fu", "Hui", and "Rui".

Although he had some small thoughts before, he never thought about seizing the legitimate position. For him, the position of the eldest brother cannot be taken away, it is a matter of course. However, the King of Jibei broke that blind spot -

the position of the prince in the emperor's heart cannot be changed, but the prince can die.

When Liu Changshi rushed over, Prince Fu had already wiped the traces of spring water on his face with a handkerchief. While his pet snake was playing in the water, he sat on the shore and ordered Liu Changshi, "Changshi, go to the capital secretly and find a minister named Xu Yanmiao. He should be only nineteen this year.

" Liu Changshi probed, "Are you sure he is nineteen?"

Prince Fu knew what he was thinking, "Minister Xu is indeed a hero at a young age."

Liu Changshi could hardly control the surprise on his face.

After a while, he asked, "Why does the king want me to find him?"

Prince Fu smiled and said, "He has just been promoted to the position of Shizhong and has no background. You go find a self-righteous scholar and instigate him to step on this young talent to climb up, provoke a crisis, and make him think that his foundation is unstable and he may fall at any time. Then, you pretend to protect him and make sure to pull him over - the other Shizhong are all cunning and treacherous, and they will not act until they see the rabbit. Only Xu Yanmiao is very young."

Youth represents youth and good at deception.

After thinking for a while, Prince Fu said, "Go to the storehouse and withdraw a thousand taels of gold. He has just been promoted to Shizhong and I am afraid he does not have much money to enjoy himself. You can use this money to take him to understand the world of flowers and flowers."

In this way, he can become the eyes and ears of the emperor.

Liu Changshi bowed and said, "Yes."

*

When he arrived in the capital, Liu Changshi's brows were still furrowed.

A scholar who thinks highly of himself... To instigate him to target a minister, who obviously has a promising future and is very popular with the emperor... Who

can he find?

In such a big capital, is there anyone who is a fool?

...

Liu Changshi was looking for a fool... No, he searched for a suitable candidate for seven whole days before he found one.

When several young students walked past him complaining, "Brother Zhao is innocent. If it weren't for that recommendation, you would be able to participate in the shooting test now!"

Brother Zhao was not shy and said murderously, "Don't let me know who did it!"

Ruining someone's future is like revenge for killing one's father!

Liu Changshi, who had already walked far away, suddenly stopped.

＊

"Knock, knock, knock--"

Xu Yanmiao heard the knock on the door and got up from the bed with messy hair.

"Who is it... I have a good holiday, but you come to knock on the door early in the morning! Can I pretend that I'm not at home..."

After mumbling a few words, he still had to get up and shouted in front of the door: "Wait a minute!"

Then he quickly washed and changed into clothes for going out and opened the door: "Who is it?"

After all, there was an official there, what if it was the old emperor or a superior looking for him.

The other side handed over the invitation very politely: "Mr. Xu, on the next holiday, my husband will hold a spring banquet in Taoyuan outside the city. I sincerely invite you to meet him."

Xu Yanmiao: "Your husband is..."

"He is the younger brother of the Marquis of Hongyang, surnamed Zhao, and his name is Li."

[But... I don't seem to have any relationship with this Marquis of Hongyang's younger brother? ]

But Xu Yanmiao still said hesitantly in order not to offend anyone, "Okay. If there is nothing important, I will go to the appointment."

The other party bowed and turned away.

After Xu Yanmiao and others left, he stared at the door and thought for a long time, took out the tool box, knocked on the door for a long time, and then closed the door and went back to sleep with satisfaction.

The deputy governor of the left army who lived next door to him ran over curiously and saw an extra sign on the door.

'The owner of this place is sleepy, please do not disturb him unless you have something important to do in the morning.'