On New Year's Eve, An Jingzhi invited several close ministers, their families, and several sons to enter the palace.
Ding Shangbiao sat in a position below Zheng Hongtao, and from time to time he glanced at the sons standing beside the emperor above him.
He leaned over to Zheng Hongtao and whispered, "What is your Majesty planning to do? Are you planning to elect a new crown prince?"
Zheng Hongtao didn't look away, drank the wine in his glass in one gulp, squinted his eyes and said, "What your majesty wants to do is none of our business. We just need to follow your majesty's steps."
"Don't get too close to the Second Prince these days," he reminded.
"Your Majesty is not confused yet, and is wiser than before," he said meaningfully.
Ding Shangbiao: "How could I not understand this? But don't worry, the Second Prince is also a sensible man and has not taken the initiative to visit my house."
Zheng Hongtao nodded and said nothing more.
He has no grudges against the princes. No matter who comes to the throne, His Majesty will definitely have his own judgment.
Now he was worried about something else.
At the end of the dynasty, many heroes emerged across the world. As one of the first people to follow the original owner and become a bandit, he made the greatest contribution.
If Wei Wenhua is the head of the civil officials, then Zheng Hongtao is the head of the military generals.
There is a saying that goes, peace is determined by the general, and the general is not allowed to see peace.
Since the founding of the country, he has been careful to keep a low profile in his words and deeds, for fear that the day when the weapons were stored in the warehouse would be the day of his death.
At first, he also thought that after the world was initially stabilized, His Majesty became fond of pleasure and became incompetent.
Looking back now, all this should have been arranged by His Majesty. He deliberately acted like he loved pleasure, so some people would let down their guard, and finally His Majesty caught him and killed him directly.
Now, His Majesty no longer pretends to be incompetent, but appears even more mysterious and unfathomable, with divine might being hard to gauge.
Although the other party had shown affection towards Ding Shangbiao before, he still had not completely let go of the worry in his heart.
Suddenly he felt Ding Shangbiao beside him pushing him. He woke up suddenly and looked at him questioningly.
"What are you thinking about, Old Zheng? His Majesty is talking to you." Ding Shangbiao reminded in a low voice.
Zheng Hongtao quickly looked towards the seat above him and saw An Jingzhi looking at him with a smile.
He quickly walked out of his seat, stood in the middle, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I drank too much and my mind was a little confused. I didn't hear what Your Majesty said."
"It's okay, it's okay. Today is the day for everyone to come and eat and drink."
"I remember your alcohol tolerance. You shouldn't get drunk with just this little bit of wine, right? You seem to be worried about something. Is there any trouble?" An Jingzhi said.
Zheng Hongtao said, "I am just a little worried about my children at home. They are old and have accomplished nothing."
An Jingzhi smiled slightly and said, "That's not difficult. I plan to set up a military academy. Not only will I teach them how to march and fight, but I'll also teach them how to read and write. I'll personally be the dean. If they don't learn well, they won't be allowed to graduate. Don't worry about them not having a future."
There was a sparse discussion below.
He looked at everyone and continued, "If it were anyone else, they would have to take the exam themselves. You are all my loyal ministers, so I can give each of you two places."
All the ministers immediately thanked loudly.
His Majesty personally serves as the dean. Even if this military academy does not exist, it is still a good future. At least after graduating from the military academy, you can be called a disciple of the emperor.
"You're welcome."
Glancing at Zheng Hongtao, An Jingzhi said softly, "My fellow old brothers have all followed me all the way here. You understand the difficulty of conquering the world, but in fact, defending the world is even more difficult."
"So much blood and tears have been shed, so many people have died, and this world has finally fallen into our hands. I must be worthy of those who shed blood and tears."
"I can't let them think they're above the law just because they've done a little bit of good."
After a pause and observing everyone's expressions, he said sternly, "No matter who it is, as long as they violate the laws of the country, even if they are my old brother of more than ten years, I will not let them go."
"Of course, if everyone behaves properly and abides by the law, I can afford to confer a title on him no matter how great his achievements are!"
An Jingzhi no longer used the term "I" to refer to himself. He spoke with reason and evidence, explaining why the original owner had killed those old brothers.
Although the original owner was indeed a little afraid of them, the world was not yet unified, so he did not dare to do anything too blatant. Everyone was catching the thief and seizing the stolen goods, and the evidence was solid.
Zheng Hongtao was extremely excited when he heard this. It turned out that the emperor had always known about his worries.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty." He knelt on the ground and sobbed.
An Jingzhi walked down from the dragon throne with a smile and helped the other person up.
He patted the other's shoulder and said, "I know you blame me for being unkind, but you must also understand me. I am not only your brother, but also the king of the people."
"If I allow you to rely on your merits to bring disaster to the people, then what difference will I make from those incompetent rulers?"
Zheng Hongtao immediately shook his head: "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong."
If this was said by the original owner, Zheng Hongtao would only think that the other party was hypocritical.
After An Jingzhi traveled through time, he first defeated the enemy army and then ruthlessly killed his eldest son, whom he had always loved the most. He saw all of this in his heart.
For the sake of the country, he could even execute his eldest son. It was normal that several old generals who made mistakes could not be kept. Everything was based on the people.
"Serve me well in the future, and don't be afraid of overshadowing me. No one can surpass my achievements."
The light words seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and the confidence in the tone infected everyone.
"I am willing to clear everything for Your Majesty!" Zheng Hongtao said loudly.
The last bit of worry in his heart was completely put aside.
"It's the same for everyone. Don't be afraid of being overshadowed by your achievements. I have clear rewards and punishments. Merits will be rewarded, and mistakes will be punished!"
He paused and smiled, "If you don't want to fight in the future, you can come to the Military Academy to teach. My generals are all experienced in hundreds of battles. If those guys can learn even one tenth of your skills, the country will be insecure."
After New Year's Eve, the news about the military academy had spread everywhere.
It may not be a big deal for the civil officials, but it caused a stir among the military generals.
Once the military academy is established, it will not only be a place for these generals to retire, but also a future for their descendants.
This group of people kept inquiring about the specific situation of the Military Academy. As the head of the military generals, Zheng Hongtao's house was always crowded with people.
It was also the first time he heard His Majesty talk about the Military Academy at the banquet, so there was no news to reveal to everyone.
After approaching several times, I was annoyed by the questions and had to stay indoors.
No matter who came to visit, he would always claim to be sick and unable to see guests.
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