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"On the contrary, I have the ambition to monopolize your favor."
During the autumn harvest in August, Qingyang received a cart of autumn grain sent to the palace by the guards who were sent by Prince Yong to guard the mausoleum. The grain was not valuable, but it was all grown by Prince Yong himself. Every grain contained the love that the uncle had for the emperor's niece.
Not only did Qingyang express his gratitude to the civil and military officials for his uncle Wang's sincerity in guarding the mausoleum at the morning court, he also specially distributed the autumn grain sent by his uncle Wang to the canteens of various government offices of the previous dynasty, so that officials of all ranks could taste the uncle Wang's kindness with their own mouths.
The amount of food was small, so Qin Ren only got a bowl of thin corn porridge and a long steamed sweet potato, which he ate along with some breakfast prepared in the canteen.
After finishing his shift at dusk, Qin Ren ran into his eldest brother, Qin Hong, on the palace road. The two brothers walked side by side. Qin Ren muttered quietly, "Have you eaten the porridge and sweet potatoes, big brother? Thankfully, Uncle Wang said we only have to guard for a year."
He had been pampered since childhood, and even the porridge he drank was white rice porridge. Corn porridge was too irritating to the throat. Qin Ren even suspected that his sister didn't like corn porridge, so she distributed the autumn grain sent by Uncle Wang to all the officials.
Qin Hong didn't get along with his hot-tempered second brother, nor with his third brother, who loved to grumble about these trivial matters. Upon hearing this, he simply gave his third brother a disapproving look and brought up another matter: "Yesterday, the Emperor asked you to visit Lord Xie. How is Lord Xie's condition?"
Minister of Rites Xie Xunwen started taking a long leave last autumn. This year, he managed to preside over his father's funeral and his sister's coronation ceremony. After finishing the two major events, Xie Xunwen continued to recuperate at home on sick leave. He also submitted a letter of resignation. His sister might do the same as his father did in the past, and just asked Xie Xunwen to rest and recuperate. This is the favor the emperor bestows on his subjects.
Qin Ren's expression darkened as he sighed, "I'm afraid I won't be able to hold out for a few more days."
Xie Xunwen initially suffered from a leg disease that was incurable. He was also old, and as time went by, illnesses appeared all over his body. Even as an outsider, he felt that he was suffering.
Qin Hong also sighed. Birth, old age, sickness and death are something no one can escape.
Three days later, news of the death came from the Xie family.
Qingyang sent a funeral ceremony to the Xie family. She had often gone to the Former Dynasty since she was three years old. She was more familiar with these old ministers than with her royal brothers. The more she dealt with them, the more affection she had for them. So every time she saw off an old minister, Qingyang would feel sad for a while.
Left Prime Minister Yan Xizheng once again noticed the hidden concern in the new emperor's eyes when he looked at him. If he did not know that the new emperor was broad-minded and did not bear a grudge against his offensive words in the past, Yan Xizheng would have suspected that the new emperor wanted to use his old age as an excuse to hint that he should resign and retire.
When he was really unable to do his best, Yan Xizheng would not be attached to the power of the Left Prime Minister, but he was still strong and his mind was not confused, so Yan Xizheng wanted to work for a few more years. Chaos was most likely to occur at the beginning of the succession of the throne, and Yan Xizheng believed that he still had some face and could assist the new emperor to get through this period when it was most likely to be taken advantage of by others.
The Minister of Rites had just been replaced. In September, Jining Marquis Li Yu, the Qingzhou General, suddenly died after a bout of heavy drinking. A memorial announcing the death was sent to the capital, and Qingyang was speechless for a long moment after reading it. Upon hearing the news, the entire court, both civil and military officials, lamented the loss. For a general, a founding father, to die on the battlefield or in the barracks was an honor. But to die suddenly after a drinking contest...
Think about Li Yu's increasingly fat body. Fat people are prone to illness. If he continues to drink recklessly, won't the King of Hell come to visit him?
Not to mention the wailing of grief of the Li family in the Jining Marquis Mansion, as the emperor, Qingyang had to choose another Qingzhou general for himself. Qingzhou had an army of 70,000 and was closer to the capital than border states such as Liaozhou, Liangzhou, and Yunzhou. The 70,000 Qingzhou troops could fight against the Japanese pirates from the sea in the east, rush to support Jizhou in the north, and defend the capital in the west. Therefore, the new Qingzhou general must have the ability to command the army and be loyal to the new emperor.
Qingyang already had a candidate for a new general in mind, but she had previously considered this candidate for Jizhou. After all, Jizhou's general Guo Yanqing was the oldest. Who would have thought that Li Yu would be the first among the generals to leave.
Without waiting for Qingyang to question him, Fan Zhong rushed to the Imperial Study and offered his services. The mighty commander of the Imperial Guard knelt before Qingyang and spoke earnestly, "My current wealth and status are entirely due to the late emperor's support. I am loyal to him, and I am also completely loyal to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty finds me more useful in the Imperial Guard, I will continue to guard the Imperial City for You. If Your Majesty finds me more useful in Qingzhou, then I swear I will manage the Qingzhou army for Your Majesty. As long as I am here, I will never let anything go wrong in Qingzhou!"
Fan Zhong simply looked like a rough-and-tumble warrior. In fact, he had followed the late emperor on his campaigns, and had learned all the techniques of marching and deploying troops. However, the late emperor had many renowned generals, and it was not his turn as a junior to rise to prominence, so Fan Zhong diligently served as the commander of his imperial guards. With the passing of Lü Guangzu, Deng Chong, and Li Yu, Fan Zhong finally had the opportunity to be sent out to serve as a general. He feared the new emperor would mistake him for a rough-and-tumble general, like Prince Yong and Deng Chong.
Qingyang never regarded Fan Zhong as a reckless man. A real reckless man would not respect a three or four-year-old princess from the bottom of his heart, nor would he take the lead in supporting a crown princess.
Although Fan Zhong had no chance to be sent out and make meritorious service in recent years, Qingyang had seen how Fan Zhong trained the 3,000 elite soldiers of the Imperial Guard and how Fan Zhong deployed his troops in the small training ground of the Imperial Guard. When she initially felt that Fan Zhong's words and deeds did not match his rough appearance, Qingyang went to ask her father about Fan Zhong, and then heard a lot of praise from her father.
The emperor was closest to Deng Chong and Wang Shu, and he would praise and criticize them from time to time, but he never mentioned any shortcomings of Fan Zhong, which shows how steady and reliable Fan Zhong was.
Qingyang trusted his father's vision, and even more so, he trusted the judgment he made after knowing Fan Zhong for more than ten years.
After exempting Fan Zhong from the ceremony, Qingyang asked, "If you run off to Qingzhou, who will be the commander of my Imperial Guard?"
Fan Zhong felt that Zhang Su was quite suitable, but he would not be stupid enough to help the emperor make decisions, nor would he recommend him on his own, because not recommending him would definitely be right, but recommending him might not really be in line with the emperor's wishes.
Just like when the late emperor summoned his ministers to discuss the selection of the crown prince, Fan Zhong smiled innocently, "The Imperial City belongs to His Majesty. Your Majesty has asked me to be the commander of the Imperial Guard. I will protect the Imperial City even if it costs my life. But Your Majesty asked me to recommend someone else. I don't have the talent to recommend people like Lord Yang. It's better for Your Majesty to decide. I will just pass on my skills in guarding the Imperial City to him."
Qingyang smiled. Fan Zhong was so good at talking that she felt reluctant to transfer him away from the capital.
No matter how reluctant he was, Fan Zhong was indeed the best candidate for the new Qingzhou general in Qingyang's mind.
That night, after lying on the bed, Qingyang lay on Zhang Su's chest and mentioned to him Fan Zhong's self-recommendation.
Zhang Su has a handsome face like a scholar, but he has the robustness and strength of a son of a general. However, when he is relaxed physically and mentally, his broad and strong chest is not stiff. On autumn nights like this when the temperature gradually turns cooler, Qingyang likes to be held tightly in his arms, and also likes to lie in his warm arms.
She had only said half of her words when Zhang Su's entire body tensed up completely. Qingyang naturally noticed it, but when she looked at Zhang Su's face, he didn't show it at all. He still looked serious and had no desires.
"What does the emperor think?" Unless the emperor needed it, such as asking for the marching route, Zhang Su would not make decisions for the emperor without authorization.
Qingyang: "I agree, but once he leaves, we have to choose a new commander of the Imperial Guard."
Zhang Su's breathing had already become disordered due to the emperor's seemingly intentional and unintentional leg movements. Because the emperor was talking about serious matters, Zhang Su deliberately avoided the emperor's eyes that could see through people's hearts, until the emperor mentioned the commander of the Imperial Guard, and he was in the Imperial Guard.
Holding the emperor's right leg, which was draped over him, Zhang Su met the emperor's teasing eyes with one hand and said in a hoarse voice, "No matter who the emperor chooses, as long as it's not me, it's fine."
He and the emperor had no children yet. What's more, even before he married the Crown Princess, some people suspected that their future children would be three generations away from the royal family.
Zhang Su had no ambition, his father and brother had no ambition, and Zhang Su would never teach him and the emperor's children to have such rebellious ambitions.
But he wouldn't simply expect the Emperor to trust him no matter what he did, simply because he had no ambitions or because of their love. Whether it was a relationship between husband and wife or between a ruler and his subjects, if one wanted to be trusted by the other, they had to do things that earned their trust.
With just one word and one look from Zhang Su, Qingyang understood what he meant.
She kissed his eyes and whispered, "I didn't mean to test you, but you're in the Imperial Guards Department. If I don't greet you in advance, it would seem strange."
Zhang Su: "I understand. What I want to say is that I only want to be with the emperor. If I serve in the court, it may affect the emperor's affection for me. I would rather live in the harem than wear the official robes."
Qingyang laughed at him: "Are you so useless?"
Zhang Su's hands began to move upwards, and he raised his head to kiss the emperor's slender neck and ears: "On the contrary, I have the ambition to monopolize the emperor's favor."
The emperor has so many ministers. After sending away a group of old ministers, he will promote a group of new ministers. But the one who sleeps beside the emperor...
Zhang Su couldn't tell how many emperors there would be, so he wanted to be the only one.
.
Fan Zhong became the general of Qingzhou, and Qingyang promoted his eldest son Fan Huaizhong to be the new commander of the Imperial Guard.
Even though Fan Huaizhong was four years younger than Zhang Su, only turning twenty-one this year, he had a thick beard and hair. Standing next to Zhang Su, anyone who didn't know them would definitely think Fan Huaizhong was the older one. Of course, Qingyang promoted Fan Huaizhong not because she loved Fan Zhong, but because Fan Huaizhong had been with her for a long time. Whether she was fifteen years old, racing in the Western Garden, sixteen years old, accompanying her father on a southern tour, or seventeen years old, fighting against the Donghu in the north, Fan Huaizhong was always by her side. Zhang Su's protection of her was mixed with a childhood sweetheart's private affection, but Fan Huaizhong's loyalty was pure.
All the officials in the capital knew about this, so no one questioned Fan Huaizhong's qualifications to lead the Imperial Guard.
At the end of September, Qin Liang went to the imperial mausoleum to visit his father again. It had become a routine once a month and there was no need to hide it.
Upon learning that Li Yu had died from drinking too much, Prince Yong felt a little uncomfortable and looked down on Li Yu.
Upon learning that Fan Zhong had been appointed as the general of Qingzhou, Prince Yong said disdainfully, "Lin'er, you really dare to use a soldier who got promoted by flattering your uncle."
Qin Liang: "Regardless of whether Fan Zhong is capable or not, his loyalty to the Emperor is unquestionable. With him around, Qingzhou will definitely remain in peace."
Reminded by his son, Prince Yong began to worry: "He's in the capital, and the Imperial Guards only have 3,000 men, which is of little use. Now he's gone to Qingzhou. What if he gets impulsive and leads the Qingzhou army to attack us?"
Qin Liang smiled confidently: "No, he is most loyal to his uncle. As long as his uncle's offspring succeeds him, he will only obey his orders."
The same is true for the generals of each state and officials throughout the country, so they just need to change the situation in the capital.
【Author’s words】
Here I come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
ps: My personal condition has been very bad recently, and the updates have been extremely unpunctual. I am very sorry to everyone who has been supporting and encouraging me (in fact, what I fear most is to disappoint your wait and enthusiasm, because I am not mature enough in terms of stress resistance). But the content has always been moving according to my original idea, so you can rest assured that I have finished most of the most difficult parts of this book, and I will never be sloppy or perfunctory in the ending!
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