On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month of the 24th year of Zhaohua.

The first snowfall since the beginning of winter fell in Dongxu City, Kyoto, Wu.

Today is the 60th birthday of the Emperor of Wu.

This should have been a festive day, but news has already been heard from the palace that the emperor was unwilling to do such extravagant things, so the birthday of this year was not celebrated very much.

This is the emperor's frugality.

The emperor has been in power for thirty-nine years and he has always been frugal!

Under his efforts to govern the country, the national strength of the Wu Kingdom reached a new level.

The lives of the people of Wu State are as high as the sesame seeds bloom.

Therefore, this old emperor is deeply loved by the people, and he also has a high prestige among all civil and military officials.

But as the prince, he cannot make his father's 60th birthday seem too deserted.

So, at the instruction of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, colorful strips were hung on the streets and alleys of Dongxu City, and the palace was redesigned, and red lanterns were hung everywhere, making the atmosphere more festive.

.

Imperial study room.

The old emperor Wu Emperor put down the memorial in his hand, looked up at the snow outside the door, got up, lifted his clothes and walked to the door, looked up again, turned around and walked back, sitting on the chair next to the tea table

.

"Jingzhong,"

An old eunuch next to the door hurried over: "Master, I'm here!"

"It's snowing again before I know it... Why do I feel that the winter this year is a bit cold?"

"Your Majesty, today is the emperor's sixtyth birthday!"

Emperor Wu opened his mouth and after a moment, he said "Oh...", "Yes, it's already my age... It's not that the winter is cold, but that I'm old!"

Old Eunuch Zhang Jingzhong and Zhang bowed and said, "But the emperor is still strong and powerful. But the old slave grew up with the emperor. If someone changes, he might think that the emperor is only in his forties!"

Emperor Wu grinned.

He shook his head: "You old guy, this mouth is still so sweet when you are old!"

"As old, it's no big deal!"

"I am not a god, I am just a mortal, and I will die after all. I don't care!"

"The red lanterns outside... Didn't I say I won't do these empty things?"

Zhang Jingzhong quickly replied: "Your Majesty, you are the Emperor!"

"You are rich all over the world and naturally don't care about these forms, but think about it, if the Crown Prince is your son, he will do nothing, this falls into the eyes of the court officials... Of course, the ministers dare not say a word to the emperor.

Yours is not!"

"But what do those ministers think of the prince?"

"Do you think the prince is unfilial?"

"It's still what Lao Nu said. You can't ignore it, but the prince must not do it!"

Emperor Wu curled his lips, "What else did the prince do?"

"This... the prince originally wanted to give you a surprise to the emperor. Since the emperor asked, then the old slave would give the emperor a clear idea first."

"The prince invited a few old ministers... Originally, the prince wanted to invite all the sixty-year-old men from Dongxu City, saying that he wanted to hold a banquet for the thousand-year-olds for you."

"In the eyes of the old lady, this is actually quite good. The emperor loves the people as much as his son. After this banquet of thousands of old men, the emperor's reputation among the people will be higher!"

"It's just that I understand what the emperor thinks, so I'll give the prince advice... There are too many thousand old men, so I might as well invite a dozen people to gather together. This will not only bring the prince's filial piety, but also the emperor's

wish."

Emperor Wu suddenly laughed, and he raised his hand and pointed at Zhang Jingzhong:

"You old guy still like to think about my thoughts, but this time you really thought about it wrong."

Zhang Jingzhong was shocked when he heard this, and he quickly bowed and said, "Then... the old slave will hold a banquet for Thousand Old Ones again!"

"never mind!"

Emperor Wu waved his hand, "The prince has invited those old men?"

"When I returned to the emperor, there were great scholar Yun Shuxian, Gu Nianxi, Xian Youzhi, old minister Hong Chenfan, general Gou Zhong who returned to Kyoto to report his duties, and..."

"Wait, Gou Zhong, I remember that he is only forty years old, how could he become an old man?"

"This... Emperor, didn't you say you wanted to make a crown prince's concubine for His Highness at the birthday party? This is a big event. Since the general has returned to Kyoto, he has made his daughter Gou Yunniang the crown prince's concubine. This is the emperor's confrontation with Gou Mansion.

Great gift!”

"Your Highness the Crown Prince means that if Gou Zhong is present, he will understand the emperor's intentions better and lead the Condor Heroes Army to defend the border for the Wu Kingdom."

Emperor Wu pondered for three breaths, "Well, it seems that the prince still took some thought. Who else is there?"

"There are five ministers, of course, they are not sixty years old, but I think age is not very important. These five ministers are all loyal ministers of the State of Wu. His Royal Highness believes that they can participate

The Emperor's birthday party is their supreme glory."

"In the future, they will work harder and more for the court in their respective positions."

Emperor Wu frowned slightly, "Aren't you the six ministers? Why did you hire five? Who is missing?"

"Go back to the emperor, the Minister of War Xia Liu is missing!"

"Why are he missing?"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince said...this name is not good!"

Emperor Wu was stunned and looked up at Zhang Jingzhong. He didn't say a word, but Zhang Jingzhong felt a huge pressure!

As an old man who has been with Emperor Wu since he was a child, he knew the meaning of this look.

His waist bent lower and he whispered: "Your Majesty, I've learned about this... I personally went to know about it. There are two main reasons why the prince dislikes the Duke Xia's Mansion."

"First, Xia Liu has a daughter named Xia Hua. The emperor probably still has some impression. He went to Tianyin Pavilion ten years ago, worshiped the eldest princess's disciple, and became the eldest princess's closed disciple."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince and Xia Hua's childhood sweethearts... Your Highness has always liked Miss Xia. Your Highness has been waiting for Miss Xia for ten years, but he did not expect that Miss Xia fell in love with the poet Li Chenan from Ningguo!"

"This is the first one of His Royal Highness's dislike."

"Secondly, His Highness the Crown Prince believes that Xia Li has been guarding Xiayuanzhou for nearly twenty years. Although he has built a solid defense line like Qichengzhai, he has finally failed to seize Wuya Pass."

"The prince believed that Xia Li could only defend her and had no ability to conquer cities and land, so the prince recalled Xia Li and replaced Xia Yuanzhou's commander with Gou Zhong's eldest son Gou Kuo... The prince said that he had asked you for instructions.

”

"The prince doesn't like the entire Xia Duke's Mansion, so he didn't invite Xia Li, the Minister of War. It's roughly that."

Emperor Wu frowned tightly. The prince did mention the matter of changing generals in Wuya, but he only said at that time that he needed to train more...

He sent Goukuo to Wuyaguan for training?

Duke Xia is a man who is as smart as a monkey. Xia Li was dismissed and Xia Liu was not favored by the prince... This old man made great achievements with me in the battles of the south and north, but the prince would be disappointed.

Heart!

He is not a person who accepts his fate!

The news of the vassalization of the vassal state has been released. Will he make some trouble with this matter?

Emperor Wu sat upright and did not blame the prince for his fault.

"I am a nostalgic person. There were not many old brothers who had a life-long relationship with me back then. Old Man Qiu left early, and Old Man Xia was still in his sixties and probably couldn't live many years."

"In this way, if you go to Duke Xia's mansion, you will say that I want to see him."

"By the way, I will also bring a few words to the prince."

"For the king, you should have the ability to tolerate others! Even if you can't tolerate... the prince is still young and cannot tolerate those people will always die in front of him."

"You must be calm, hide things, and..."

Emperor Wu picked up the teacup and looked at the snow outside the door.
Chapter completed!