marquis of jingan

Chapter 1418 Perfect Balance

Chapter 1418 Perfect Balance

At the entrance of Xiu De Hall, the emperor was a little tired after walking all the way, but he was still in good spirits. He lowered his head to drink the cold tea handed to him by the eunuch, and looked up at the palace plaques that were still engraved with Zhu Lizhen's words. He was silent for a while and looked at Shen Yi: "Why haven't these plaques been taken down yet?"

"We are waiting for your majesty to remove these Zhu Lizhen plaques."

His Majesty the Emperor took a sip of water and walked into the Xiu De Hall with his hands behind his back.

"Tear it down."

Although he did not turn around, his voice came through clearly. Master Shen waved to Zhu Zhen and others who were following him and said lightly, "Tear it down."

After saying this, Master Shen quickened his pace and followed the emperor into the empty hall. After entering the hall, Shen Yi found that the emperor was looking at the dragon throne in the front hall.

Mr. Shen stepped forward, lowered his head and asked, "What are you looking at, Your Majesty?"

"I am looking at the place where Master Zhuli has sat for seventy years."

His Majesty the Emperor looked around and asked, "Does the Emperor of Northern Qi live here?"

"Yes."

Shen Yi lowered his head and said, "The front hall is where the court is held, and the back hall is where the Northern Qi pseudo-emperor lives. The first time I came in, I caught Zhao Kai in the back hall."

“You are so ignorant.”

His Majesty the Emperor shook his head and said, "State affairs are called palaces, and family affairs are called palaces. People are not supposed to live here."

At this point, Emperor Hongde looked up at the throne, walked up the steps, slowly sat down, and said quietly: "Before this trip north, I specially looked through the documents of the royal records in the inner court, here..."

"It should be called the Hall of Supreme Harmony."

Shen Yi lowered his head quickly and said with a smile: "Your Majesty is a scholar. I will send someone to make a plaque immediately."

The emperor smiled but did not respond. He looked around the palace and suddenly seemed to understand something. He said, "Those Zhuli Immortals may not be ignorant. They just want to trample on the etiquette and rules of the Han people."

Shen Yi bowed slightly and said with a smile: "Now, those arrogant Zhu Li Zhenren have also been trampled under the feet of Your Majesty."

The emperor did not respond, but stood up from the throne and waved to Shen Yi.

"Shen Qing, come up."

Mr. Shen hesitated for a moment, but still walked in front of the emperor. His Majesty the emperor pulled his sleeve and said with a smile: "Mr. Shen, sit here and try it."

“It’s a very broad view.”

Master Shen quickly shook his head: "Your Majesty, this is against the rules of etiquette, I dare not do it."

Emperor Hongde disagreed and said with a smile: "There are no outsiders here, and no one can see you if you sit down for a while."

He looked at Shen Yi: "Do you think I'm testing you?"

Emperor Hongde smiled cheerfully: "If we were in Jiankang, I could still test you, but now we are in Yandu, my intentions are clear, why should I test you?"

"I just want you to experience what it feels like to sit here."

Shen Yi still insisted on not sitting on it, but stood beside the throne, glanced down, then lowered his head slightly and said: "Your Majesty is right, the view here is much wider."

He paused, then smiled and said, "It seems that Your Majesty saw me sleeping against a pillar during the court meeting in Jiankang in my early years."

"That's natural."

Emperor Hongde sat on the dragon throne with a carefree look, then heaved a sigh of relief, looked around, and said with a smile: "I wonder if the previous emperors of Zhuli Zhenren can see what I look like now. It would be great if they could see it."

His Majesty the Emperor leaned back on the dragon throne and said with a smile, "In that case, I can be considered to have let out a sigh of relief for our ancestors."

Shen Yi said, "Your Majesty is able to recover the homeland. You are the most remarkable emperor since Emperor Taizu. You can even be compared with Emperor Taizu."

"All the ancestors are above, and they can see it."

The emperor did not comment, but just smiled and asked, "Speaking of ancestors, I haven't had time to ask, where is Emperor Shizong's coffin now?"

"We have arrived at the imperial mausoleum. We only need your Majesty's order to lower the coffin of Emperor Sejong into the underground palace and bury him in peace."

Emperor Hongde was relieved and said, "I am relieved now. I will rest in Yandu for a few days. Three days later, I will personally watch the burial of Emperor Shizong's coffin."

Mr. Shen nodded and asked, "Your Majesty, will you stay in this palace tonight?"

"Stay."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "Did Mr. Shen arrange another place?"

"That's not true."

Master Shen bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Huai'an Army has all withdrawn from the Imperial City. Now the Jiankang Imperial Guards are taking over inside and outside the Imperial City to ensure your Majesty's safety."

The emperor smiled dumbly and said, "You, you really don't want to take any responsibility at all."

Shen Yi shook his head and said, "I will be outside the imperial city and personally guard Your Majesty."

The emperor smiled nonchalantly, stood up and said, "Let's go and take a look at the harem in this imperial city."

After saying this, he walked down the imperial steps, and Shen Yi followed behind him to continue to visit the imperial city of Northern Qi.

Speaking of which, this was the first time that Shen Yi visited the Northern Qi Imperial Palace so seriously. After all, the last time he came here, he had too many things to do and was a little rushed. He also deliberately avoided staying in the Northern Qi Imperial Palace for too long.

This time, he followed Emperor Hongde and toured the palace.

When they were almost done with the tour, Emperor Hongde came to the residence that Zhang Jian had prepared for him in the palace. He patted Shen Yi on the shoulder and said with a smile, "I am a little sleepy today, so I will not meet with other ministers. Tomorrow I will go to your Governor's Mansion to take a look and host a banquet for all the ministers in Yandu at the Governor's Mansion."

Mr. Shen bowed his head and said, "I obey your order."

The emperor yawned and waved his hand, "That's all for today. I'm going to go to sleep first. I have to review the documents sent from Jiankang tonight."

Shen Yi replied yes, lowered his head and walked out.

Emperor Hongde stretched lazily and actually fell asleep in the Northern Qi Imperial Palace.

…………

That night, when His Majesty the Emperor was reviewing documents, Prince of Jin Li Mu stood before the Emperor, bowed his head slightly, and reported what he had seen and heard in the north over the past few months.

After reporting everything, he couldn't help but look up at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, you are taking too much risk."

The emperor put down the brush in his hand, looked up at Li Mu, and said with a smile: "Brother Jin Wang, what do you mean by that?"

Li Mu's face was serious, and he said, "Your Majesty, the Great Chen's revival is now unstoppable, and you are the most important person in it. No matter what, you can't let anything happen to you. How can you rashly come to Yandu at this time?"

"I came here to bury Emperor Sejong, and by the way..."

The emperor said quietly: "Come to Yandu to see if this place is suitable for moving the capital."

"As for the adventure that Brother Jin Wang mentioned..."

The emperor smiled and said, "Brother Jin, do you think Shen Yi is unreliable?"

Li Mu shook his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, Marquis Shen fought all the way from Huai'an to Yandu, and he still did not change his style despite having a large army. His sincerity is evident to all. What I am talking about is not how great Shen Yi is, but that Your Majesty should not put your personal safety in the hands of another person under any circumstances."

"Even…"

He stopped talking here.

The emperor smiled and continued, "It's even more inappropriate to bring your sons along."

Li Mu lowered his head and remained silent.

"Brother Jin Wang is overthinking."

His Majesty the Emperor motioned Li Mu to sit down, then looked around, dismissed the people serving him, and smiled softly, "Not to mention that Shen Qi would not do such a thing, even if he had this intention, the Huai'an Army is not all the coastal military commanders of the past."

"Now, he can't touch me."

His Majesty the Emperor said quietly: "If something happens to me in the north, regardless of whether it is Shen Yi's doing, the Huai'an army of more than 100,000 or 200,000 will immediately collapse."

The emperor was right. The composition of the Huai'an Army today was complex. It was no longer the coastal military command it once was. Among the more than 100,000 or 200,000 men, there were people from the old Huaihe River Navy, some surrendered Qi troops, and some new troops recruited in the north.

Even more of them were imperial guards sent directly from Jiankang!

Although they are temporarily under Shen Yi's command, they will not agree with Shen Yi in everything!

At present, only the vanguard troops led by Xue Wei have a relatively purer composition. Except for the old veterans of the old coastal military commanders, the others are newly recruited soldiers.

Perhaps only the vanguard army would follow Shen Yi's every order to the letter.

Li Mu was stunned for a moment, then thought of the imperial guards following the Huai'an Army on the left and right. He looked up at the emperor and couldn't help but said, "Your Majesty, have you anticipated today's situation?"

"Can't talk about it."

The emperor smiled and said, "If the situation in the north was not like this now, I would not be so anxious to go north."

Emperor Hongde lowered his brows and flipped through the documents, then smiled softly and said, "Brother Prince Jin, don't worry too much. I have a good relationship with Mr. Shen."

Now, apart from the personal feelings between the king and his minister, there are also military factors that restrain each other.

If Shen Yi attacks the emperor, the Huai'an army will most likely collapse.

On the other hand, if something happened to Shen Yi himself, it goes without saying that the vanguard army, as well as all the troops in the Huai'an Army except the imperial guards, even including the imperial guards, might stand on the opposite side of the court.

After all, if the imperial court were to take action against such an outstanding and meritorious official like Shen Yi, it would not only affect Shen Yi alone, but would also dishearten all the soldiers who participated in the Northern Expedition!

Li Mu thought about it seriously for a while, and after a while, he seemed to have figured it out. He lowered his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty is wise..."

The emperor laughed at himself.

"It has nothing to do with me. The current situation is just too coincidental."

"maybe."

Emperor Hong De said slowly.

“It’s no coincidence…”

(End of this chapter)