incomprehensible

——The master of high meritorious service.

This is indeed an unsolvable deadlock throughout the ages.

Once in this situation, if you are hated by the king, you will be loyal if you advance, and you will be mermaid if you retreat.As for the princes, they are more likely to be suspected. The former Feng family was chaotic and there were many princes, and almost all of them ended badly. In the end, the only remaining prince was forced to fight against each other and cross the Fenghui River to stand on his own.

Since the second emperor Xiandi, firstly, the number of people is not prosperous, fearing the decline of the royal family, so it is not easy to fight against each other; secondly, several emperors have had the experience of imperial conquests, and they all have military exploits, and the rest of the princes also There are lessons learned from the past, and I feel very good, but we live in peace.

Ye Xuehuan was the first prince with such authority since the merger of the two central governments and the official establishment of the dynasty.

What will happen in the future, of course, Ye Xuehuan can't predict, but now the structure of the Chongyang court has changed, and there is no threat from powerful ministers and relatives, but the imperial power cannot be allowed to expand without restriction.The tacit understanding between him and Ye Xueyuan is here. Nothing can be broken and nothing can be established. Now that the century-old deadlock has been broken, they must re-establish a way of monarch and ministers. They must test each other and explore together until they draw a line of balance between the two phases. , mutual containment, mutual benefit and common prosperity.

This is definitely not something that can be achieved overnight, and there will inevitably be conflicts; but if Ye Xueyuan doesn't even have this ability, it is impossible for Ye Xuehuan to help him.

At least at this stage, they trust each other.

Ye Xuehuan didn't think that Chu Yuezhi's idea was wrong. In this respect, he and Liu Ting had a lot in common. He was too obsessed with the family interests he wanted to protect, and infinitely magnified the possible losses. The results are too pessimistic, and some things are hard to figure out.

It is not that the balance between the monarch and his ministers cannot be maintained, but an unchanging balance cannot be maintained; but whether it is Liu Ting or Chu Yuezhi, they put themselves on the opposite side of the imperial power from the bottom of their hearts, while Ye Xuehuan wants to seek a new way to get along with each other. model.The throne symbolizes supremacy, but it is precisely because of this that it limits the king's vision; because there is no higher pursuit, he becomes anxious about gains and losses, paranoid, and feels that the meritorious officials are "highly meritorious". Give birth to a heart of betrayal.

He wants to keep "pursuing" Ye Xueyuan, wants to become his "vision", open up a wider world for him and himself, and create a brand new and unprecedented prosperity.

It may not be successful, and it will be very bumpy, but he is willing to try.

——This is where his real "ambition" lies, but it's a pity that Chu Yuezhi doesn't understand it.

"...What if I don't retreat?"

Ye Xuehuan raised his eyebrows, "Then I will send someone to send my uncle back to Juyang today, and the old man will take care of it for me."

If you can't explain it, don't force it. On this point, he has completely inherited the style of Empress Chu, not asking others to understand, but always acting according to his own plan and rhythm.

Chu Yue laughed back in anger: "Then I want to see if you have the ability!"

Upon hearing the words, the Xuanfeng guards immediately prepared to draw their swords to face each other; however, at this moment, there was a clear knock on the door.

The main hall was strangely quiet, and Gao Qian outside the hall was about to cry. He didn't expect that Lan Qi would knock on the door unexpectedly. "Notify" him.

So Gao Qian had no choice but to bite the bullet and said respectfully outside the door: "My lord, the young master is back."

Ye Xuehuan's expression collapsed for a moment, he didn't expect that the dignified queen mother couldn't hold back Lan Qi even for a lunch; but she quickly adjusted and waved for the guard to open the door.

Lan Qi walked in calmly, as if he couldn't feel the tense atmosphere, Zhou Zheng saluted Chu Yuezhi and his wife.

Being interrupted by him like this, it was difficult for both parties to act again for a while, not to mention that there was an inexplicable Nangong Xiuren who appeared for some reason.

"Hello, Mrs. Chu, Mrs. Chu."

Nangong Xiuren's voice was clear and soft, and Xiaoyuan had a sweet smile on his face, not to mention that he was still a young man who had not yet been crowned, so no one could lose his temper with him.

Mrs. Chu gave him a hard look, then looked Lan Qi up and down again, her eyes were full of contempt, and she mocked, "If it's as the rumors say, it's not good looking, but it's pretty good at hooking up."

Nangong Xiuren was taken aback for a moment, then frantically shook his head and waved his hands, and said firmly: "Lan Jiang and I are just good friends! We didn't hook up! Absolutely not!"

As he said that, he secretly glanced at Ye Xuehuan, as if he had sympathy.

Ye Xuehuan couldn't laugh or cry, although the Chu family's problems had not been resolved, he could no longer be serious.Reluctantly, he had to pull Lan Qi over, covered his hands habitually, and asked in a low voice, "Didn't you say you want to have lunch? Do you dare to release the queen mother's pigeon?"

Lan Qi said: "I quarreled with the queen mother, and the queen mother can't quarrel with me, so she doesn't want to keep me."

He spoke in an extremely ordinary manner, well-behaved and honest, as if he was reporting what he had for breakfast in the morning, not at all as if he was showing off that he had won a quarrel, and that his partner was still the Queen Mother.

Mrs. Chu showed disdain, but Ye Xuehuan seemed to really believe it, and pretended to sigh: "If you say you, this will cause trouble. I will take you to make amends to Concubine Yamu someday."

Lan Qi said sincerely: "I was wrong."

"Forget it." Ye Xuehuan pinched the tip of his nose, "Concubine Yamu has been in charge of the harem for ten years, and she has no opponent in the quarrel, so you can spend more time with her."

Madam Chu's face turned blue all of a sudden.

She was especially famous for her fierceness in imperial orders. In the early years, relying on her status as a brother-in-law, even the Queen of Chu would give her three points, but she couldn't hold her head up in front of Nangong Yayu.In previous years, according to the usual practice, every year during the Lantern Festival, the empress would invite various families to order a banquet in the palace for compensation. Mrs. Chu was mocked by Nangong Yayu every year when she went to the banquet, and it was not easy to get angry at the palace banquet. I was so angry that I was shaking all over.Ye Xuehuan said that Nangong Yayu, the ten-year queen, had no opponent in the quarrel, and Mrs. Chu was the number one loser.Now he asked Lan Qi to "quarrel" with the queen mother more, which was equivalent to slapping her in the face.

That's all for Ye Xuehuan, a male favorite dares to be so arrogant in front of her.But she really didn't dare to touch Lan Qi, and she couldn't give Ye Xuehuan any more excuses to make trouble, and she was unwilling to swallow her anger, so she could only vent her anger verbally: "A sharp-mouthed thing. If you are so capable, why don't you repay him?" The court, fall here to seduce the powerful."

Nangong Xiuren secretly put on a grimace, Mrs. Chu probably didn't know that if she really wanted to argue, Lan Qi was the most vicious one in the room.

"If I have never served the imperial court, why did His Majesty give me a golden waist card?" Lan Qi raised her eyebrows slightly, "What's more, even if you want to talk about seduction, it was Rong Cai who first seduced me. General Chu can testify."

Chu Changyue: "..."

Although the facts seemed to be true, he had no desire to testify.He is not as good as Ye Xuehuan, one moment he almost confronted Chu Yuezhi, and the next moment he could flirt with Lan Qi.He had mustered up the courage to break up with his family, but at this moment, the anger was exhausted, and he couldn't bring it up again.

He was at a loss for a while, not knowing how to resolve this impasse, but subconsciously he wasn't too worried, knowing that Lan Qi came in at this time not to show off his power, but to have a countermeasure.

I don't know when he started to feel so relieved about Lan Qi.

Chu Yuezhi couldn't bear it anymore, she flicked her sleeves, and made a loud sound of piercing through the air, shouting angrily: "Have you had enough trouble?"

Ye Xuehuan's face turned cold, and he hugged Lan Qi's waist to protect him, while the surrounding Xuanfeng guards approached calmly, and the circle of encirclement was sparse and did not disperse, blocking Chu Yuezhi and Mrs. Chu in the hall.

Nangong Xiuren saw that the atmosphere was not right, but with Lan Qi present, Ye Xuehuan probably didn't have time to take care of him, so he could only hide behind Chu Changyue, holding his shoulders, revealing a pair of sly round eyes.

Chu Changyue seemed to dislike him a little, and turned his head stiffly, but he couldn't care less at this time, with his right hand clasping the sword around his waist, he said in a deep voice, "Father, don't be stubborn anymore!"

Chu Yuezhi said coldly: "Nizi, kill me if you have the ability!"

Chu Changyue finally got angry, and was about to refute, when Lan Qi said indifferently: "Whether Chu Gong retreats or not, actually it doesn't affect the overall situation."

Chu Yuezhi gave him a sideways glance, probably because he felt that his status was low and unworthy to talk to her, so she turned a deaf ear to him.

Lan Qi's attitude towards him is obviously more respectful than that of Mrs. Chu. He broke away from Ye Xuehuan's arm, stood upright beside him, and said clearly: "Lan Qi is lucky. When I was young, I was at the knees of the first Chu and the latter." I have been taught. There was a question before Chu and later, but Lan Qi still can’t understand it, why don’t you ask Chu Gong for advice.”

Chu Yuezhi and his wife both had strange expressions on their faces. Lan Qi's parentage had already been spread in the deep palace, but the secrecy work in the palace was obviously strong, and everything that should have been leaked was leaked out. Chu Yuezhi didn't even know that he was once the queen of Chu.

Chu Yuezhi still didn't answer, but his expression became more dignified; Lan Qi met his suspicious eyes and said solemnly: "Chu first asked, who is the master of this world? Is it the king... or the people?"

If Lu Yao hears these words, he must feel that the Queen of Chu is really a pioneer of the times. Under the feudal system, as the feudal ruling class, the early democratic ideas were born; but this kind of thinking is too much for everyone now. Advanced, unacceptable.

"what……?"

After a long while, Chu Yuezhi spoke with difficulty: "...Min?"

——The world is naturally Ye Xue's world, and the people are only worthy of looking up and worshiping, so how can we talk about "making decisions"?

This is an absolutely rebellious remark, and it is a naked provocation to the imperial power. As an imperial family, Ye Xuehuan should hate this kind of disrespect the most, and should eliminate all these dangerous ideas; but this is exactly what the empress of Chu said , and then relayed by Lan Qi, he was frightened and angry, but also instinctively fearful, so he could only continue listening patiently.

Lan Qi said: "A country cannot stand without its people. But the people are so stupid that they need someone to guide them. Because of ignorance, they don't need to understand government orders and laws. Believe in something, have fear, and be willing to bow your head. But the king is also a mortal, but he understands the principles of the world one step earlier than the people; but if one day, the people's wisdom is enlightened, and they no longer need guidance? At that time, the world will Who should be in charge?"

For a moment, the entire hall was silent.

There is no problem with the first half of the sentence. The Chongyang Dynasty has always emphasized people's livelihood, requiring local officials to observe and listen to people's opinions. Even in the period when the river was ruled, the kings on both sides treated the people well and were proud of the country's prosperity and people's safety; It is just a link to win people's hearts and consolidate the rule. It is the construction that the kings of all dynasties must do if they want to leave a name in history and be praised forever.The kings of the Chongyang Dynasty cared about people's livelihood because they had personally been on the battlefield and witnessed thousands of lives and deaths, so they cherished every life; however, so many emperors throughout the ages really put "people" first and How many people value people's livelihood more than their achievements and reputation?

Thousands of years ago, this land was separated by warlords and wars broke out everywhere. After the former Feng family awakened the ancestors to establish the country, there was only one emperor in the world. All the people were under his feet, and no one could shake his authority.

The emperor is the son of heaven, and he rules the people according to the mandate of heaven. Whoever has doubts will question the principles of heaven, and will be spurned by the way of heaven, punished by death, and even lost forever—this is the concept that has been planted in the hearts of all people by successive emperors for thousands of years, and it is deeply ingrained , indestructible; even after the ancestors of the Yexue family won the world, they had to change their surnames to show that they belonged to the destiny.However, Empress Chu, who once stood at the apex and was faintly overshadowed by her first emperor, commented lightly that the king is also a mortal, and one day he will step down from the altar, and the people will one day be civilized and awakened, and become The true master of the world.

Ye Xuehuan's heart was full of turmoil. He first felt that it was extremely absurd. The Chongyang Dynasty had a population of more than [-] million, of whom less than one in a hundred could read and practice calligraphy, and they were all concentrated among the dignitaries, officials, and wealthy businessmen. Illiterate, what kind of state affairs do you know, and what kind of culture do you drive?In order to maintain the rule, how can the powerful class make them civilized?However, after thinking about it, it seems that it is not completely impossible; after Emperor Chen pacified the East and South Seas in the past, he sent permanent troops and envoys to overseas countries, which once led to a large number of vacancies in the court. A large number of Shushu emerged in response to the call of the imperial court.During the period when the British Emperor was in power, the commercial routes in the Western Regions were opened, another group of envoys went out, and the imperial examinations were held for three consecutive years.

Leaving aside these two large-scale expansions, the population of the central center has been increasing despite the continuous wars in the past dynasties, and the number of officials has also increased accordingly. Except for the number of envoys sent abroad, it has already increased compared to when the dynasty was established a hundred years ago More than [-]%; although the growth rate is not fast, and most of the officials are mediocre, there are indeed more and more knowledgeable people, and the threshold for the school is also much lower.

People who can read and understand can read and understand things, have their own ideas about things in the world, and question the existing principles; if there are too many such people, it will inevitably shake the status of the ruler, but the contradiction is that these people are required for development.As long as the center continues to grow, there will be more and more people like this; maybe one day, they will form a clear and mature understanding of the world, and will find that the emperor is only a mortal, not a destiny, questioning and trying to overthrow The rule of imperial power, hoping to be one's own master - this is enlightenment and self-awakening.

These changes are too subtle and too slow, and are well hidden under the appearance of prosperity. Ye Xuehuan would not have noticed it if he hadn't heard about Lan Qi; but he cannot deny that such a trend does exist. It's just that the process is too long, and it may take hundreds, thousands, or even thousands of years. No one cares about such a distant future, and they can't see that far at all-but Queen Chu has seen it.

He suddenly vaguely understood some of her intentions, and he was terrified, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

Lan Qi continued: "It was said before the Chu Dynasty that once the people's wisdom is enlightened and they begin to yearn for self-reliance, the existence of the emperor itself will lose its meaning, and it will no longer be the owner of the world, but only the leader and executor of public opinion. The emperor will not allow such a thing to happen, so once it is discovered, it will try to kill it. The only way is to centralize power in the royal family, so that no one has the power to oppose and threaten the imperial power. And when the centralization reaches a certain level, the imperial power Total loss of control ... is the beginning of loss of control, disruption and innovation."

"It's nonsense." Mrs. Chu sneered, as if she had heard a nonsense like a fish can fly in the sky and a bird can hide in the ground, "How could Xiangqi have such absurd ideas? Now that our country is prosperous and the people are safe, I will live forever. Why? Out of control and overthrow? Your deceitful words to confuse people are already a crime of treason, and if it gets out, even the imperial gold medal will not be able to protect you!"

She was triumphant as if she had caught Lan Qi's handle, but Lan Qi just gave her a look of sympathy and pity, then turned to ask Chu Yuezhi: "Does Chu Gong understand the meaning of Chu first?"

Chu Yuezhi was still immersed in the great shock, her lips were pale, her hands were trembling, and she looked at Mrs. Chu with the same eyes, but the meaning was more complicated, apart from disappointment and regret, there was actually some envy.

Chu Changyue was stunned, and Nangong Xiuren was also completely dumbfounded. They both looked at Lan Qi with eyes that they didn't know how to describe; Madam can still laugh—at a time like this, only ignorance can be fearless.

Chu Yuezhi naturally understands the meaning of Empress Chu—whether the royal family or the aristocrats are just products of the times, they are the first batch of civilized people, so they have mastered the most and best resources and become conquerors and rulers ; But as more and more people get rid of ignorance and start to pursue the truth, the superiors will start to swallow each other for their own benefit, the original checks and balances are gradually broken, and power is concentrated in a smaller and smaller range , and finally broke out out of control, and then re-divided.And the former superiors lost their advantage and will eventually disappear in the torrent of history.

The Feng family unified the world when the heroes separated, and since then opened a generation of prosperity, which is the centralization of power.Thousands of years later, the government will be chaotic, the imperial power will be out of control, and rebels will rise everywhere. This is out of control.Ye Xueshi finally decided on the cauldron, this is the re-division.

History has proved this law, who can say that the future will not repeat the same mistakes?

This is a road to awakening that will take hundreds of thousands of years. It is a situation that spans history and the future. Each of them is just a small grain of sand; Even if Shi fights to the end, even if he wins in the end, he will only become the center of the centralized power and cannot escape the end of decline in the end.

To put it bluntly, this is the destiny and the general trend. No matter how they struggle and kill each other, they cannot escape this established framework; as the current superiors, they may be able to slow down this process, but they will never It is impossible to stop it, because this is the law of heaven and earth, and it is the need of the world's own development and evolution.

This is the true meaning of Lan Qi's sentence "can't affect the overall situation".

——In Empress Chu's eyes, there is no Chu family at all, not even Ye Xue family, nor Chongyang; what she sees in her eyes is the future thousands of years later.

But this future is too far away, so far away that it has no influence or meaning at all to the present people. For example, Mrs. Chu can’t understand it. For example, the guards in the field all looked at each other blankly. but Ye Xuehuan could understand it, and Chu Yuezhi could understand it too, so they felt extremely terrifying.

Chu Yuezhi suddenly felt that life was boring, and he lost his fighting spirit all of a sudden, thinking that he had seen a very far-reaching view, and that he could seek long-term survival for the Chu family; There is no way to escape, so what else can he cling to?

As soon as he relaxes mentally, he seems to have aged several years in an instant, shaking his head dejectedly, and said in a shy voice, "Xiangqi...you are indeed Xiangqi..."

"She has been different from ordinary people since she was a child. She sees everything thoroughly, and everyone respects her at a distance." He murmured, as if recalling something long ago, "I always thought she was You came to the wrong world, that's why you left so early, because this world doesn't deserve her at all."

He looked at Lan Qi, "You said that you were taught by Xiangqi's side, I believe that you do have her shadow in you."

"It turns out that Xiangqi...has already arranged everything."

He let out a long sigh, put his hands behind his back, turned his head and walked away without hesitation.

"Are you crazy?!" Madam Chu screamed in disbelief, "Do you believe such nonsense? Why are you leaving?!"

The Xuanfeng guards around silently withdrew their weapons to make way for him, and Gao Qian who was waiting outside the door led him out.

The sky outside is just right, the half-thawed snow reflects the bright sunshine in early spring, large and small ponds have thawed, and the vigorous floating algae have quietly sprouted green buds; In the midst of the prosperous scene, his back looks extraordinarily lonely and desolate.

Chu Changyue's eyes turned sore, he hurriedly chased a few steps, and followed behind Chu Yuezhi.Chu Yuezhi ignored it, as if she had temporarily lost interest in the outside world.

Now that Empress Chu has seen this long road clearly, she will not disobey the law; so what she has to do is to centralize power for the royal family, suppress powerful families like the Chu family, and use the high-sounding reason of "imperial power is supreme" as a cover. Vigorously pushing the huge, invisible gear, pushing the world to the inevitable result she described.In this process, all the rich and powerful are just driving forces, and in the end they can only become the soil and nutrients that breed the new world.

He couldn't imagine what a world ruled by all the people would look like, and it was impossible to see it in his lifetime, but he didn't want to be a clown and leave behind a ridiculous reputation of "begging for a moon in the water" in later generations .

He is indeed old. If he is 20 years younger, even if he agrees with Empress Chu's remarks, he will definitely be unwilling to accept it and insist on fighting the so-called "law of heaven"; but now he is really gone. With this enthusiasm, he no longer has the bargaining chip to make a bet on.In fact, he already had the intention to quit, and all his toughness was just for sale; but he was already disheartened at this moment, and he didn't want to make any more unnecessary struggles.

Mrs. Chu stomped her feet anxiously, gritted her teeth and gave Lan Qi a gouged look, and then chased him out.

Nangong Xiuren moved away secretly, while hesitatingly said: "That... third brother, I'll go first..."

He was young and didn't have a deep impression of the Empress of Chu, but seeing Lan Qi talking eloquently just now, there was a faint trace of the power of the Empress Chu in his body, which suddenly aroused the childhood shadow in his heart, and he was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly .Knowing that he was quite frightened, Ye Xuehuan didn't mind that he had to squeeze over to watch the excitement, so she waved him away.

Lan Qi seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and fell directly into Ye Xuehuan's arms, letting out a long sigh of relief.Ye Xuehuan could feel his rapid heartbeat from the chests that were pressed together, and reached out to touch his back, and it was covered in cold sweat, and said helplessly: "How many things have been stuffed by the queen mother in your little head? "

He really couldn't figure it out, if Lan Qi was really just an abandoned son, why did Empress Chu tell him this?What's more, he was only six years old at the time, how could he understand?She instilled these too advanced ideas of hers in Lan Qi's mind, what exactly does she want from him?

"...I think what Duke Chu said makes sense." Lan Qi said in a muffled voice, "The queen of Chu is too far away from the world, no one gets close to her, no one understands her, maybe she really came to the wrong world."

Ye Xuehuan was silent for a moment, and sighed: "I heard that there is a religion in the Western Regions. Its teachings say that the gods they believe in will incarnate as mortals every once in a while, and guide the believers as prophets with power. I used to think it was ridiculous, but now I think It's not groundless either. Every era will have such a prophet-like figure. The former Feng family's Awakening Ancestor was amazingly talented, and eventually became an emperor through the ages. Only future generations can comment on it.”

Lan Qi said again: "I can understand the truth, but I can't imagine the future she described. What do you think? After thousands of years... Will there really be no emperors and peoples to decide?"

Ye Xuehuan had already calmed down, and said calmly: "It's possible, but after all, it's just a prediction, and its correctness cannot be verified, so I can't say for sure. But people will always be ranked. Even after a thousand years, the people are civilized, and the superiors will still It will be a high-ranking person. If you change the form and title, there will not be much difference in essence. Uncle was just too shocked, and got into a corner for a while. Let Chang Yue keep an eye on it, and must delay it until the court meeting in the future, and let him take the initiative to retire, and this matter will be considered, so I can give Brother Huang an explanation and go back to the northwest as soon as possible."

Lan Qi curled his lips, but he didn't expect him to be completely unaffected; Ye Xuehuan pinched the tip of his nose, and said with a smile: "My mother has a long-term vision, and can see the future of the future, but the future will always pass slowly. .My aunt is dignified and commanding a rank, but this virtue is nothing more than this; the civilization of the people? What kind of event is that? You just want to bluff uncle, and you want to bluff me?"

Lan Qi snorted, pretending to be obedient; Ye Xuehuan was not fooled, and lowered his face and said, "Tell me, what's the matter with arguing with the Queen Mother?"

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Lan Qi had no choice but to say everything.

Ye Xuehuan frowned when he heard that, and snorted, "You're not cowardly, and you dare to hide my bloodletting for Nuan Wen. I'll have to blackmail Mo Ran back later."

Knowing that he was unhappy, Lan Qi quickly hugged his neck and acted softly: "I'm hungry."

Ye Xuehuan had nothing to do with him, it was indeed past noon at this time, thinking that he almost turned against Nangong Yayu, and ran back without eating, risking his life experience, and even moved Queen Chu out without any trouble One pawn solved another important matter for him, and couldn't bear to blame him any more, so he sighed, ordered his servants to pass on the meal, and led him to the little flower hall.

After Gao Qian sent Chu Yuezhi off, he saw that the two of them were already sitting in the small flower hall with each other. I can still eat lunch as usual.