An autumn rain swept away the last trace of heat.

The highest ruler of the Song Dynasty, the current official Zhao Suo, has basically lived in Huayang Palace, which is Gen Yue, or Long Live Mountain, since summer.

This place naturally became the place where Zhao Suo handled government affairs and summoned ministers.

Huayang Palace, in Zhao Suo's opinion, is his blessed place.

Strange to say, since the founding of the Song Dynasty, it has been difficult for the direct line of the Zhao family to produce heirs, with many babies dying in infancy, while the collateral line has blossomed and scattered leaves, and the offspring have been born one after another. Until now,

The expenses of the Zhao clan have become the largest expenditure in the Song Dynasty's finances.

As for the direct lineage, it is very miserable.

Zhao Suo didn't even have a brother. He was the only surviving male. Moreover, he had been extremely weak since he was a child. It can be said that he grew up in a medicine jar.

Back then, in order to ensure the continuation of the throne, Zhao Suo's father followed the advice of his ministers and adopted several children from Zhao's clan from outside and brought them to the palace to raise them since they were young, just in case something happened to Zhao Suo.

Unexpectedly, maybe someone will follow up.

And ever since Zhao Suo's aunt, the queen at that time, took Zhao Suo to live in Huayang Palace, Zhao Suo's body seemed to be getting better and better day by day, and he became healthier and healthier.

And those adopted clan members were naturally sent back.

Therefore, Zhao Suo has lived in Huayang Palace for a long time since he ascended the throne.

The difficult issues with the heirs of the official families of the Song dynasties seemed to be solved with Zhao Suo.

The concubines in the harem gave birth to more than a dozen children for Zhao Suo one after another, and there were also six boys. Among them, the queens gave birth to King Zhao Jing of Chu and King Zhao Zhe of Jing, and now they have become Zhao Suo's biggest worry.

Having fewer children makes me sad.

Having more children also brings worries.

But like the emperor's family, the children are too good, so that's a worry.

When there is more than one outstanding person, it becomes even more worrying.

Power is something that you have held in your hands for a long time. Once you find out that it will be lost from your hands one day, you will inevitably feel a little panic. Even now, Zhao Suo feels that power is being lost from his hands bit by bit.

And this change was caused by his two sons.

Even if he is his own son, even if he must hand over all the power of the empire to one of them a hundred years later, as long as he lives for a day, Zhao Suo cannot tolerate anyone dividing his power.

Therefore, he used the same tactics of controlling his ministers on his two outstanding sons.

The results are impressive.

The two sons were fighting fiercely for their future inheritance rights, while he was sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, watching the changes in the court with a smile.

As long as he does not establish the East Palace for a day, he can firmly hold his two sons in his hands.

Moreover, Zhao Suo also regarded this incident as a whetstone for sharpening his own son.

If we don't sharpen the sword of the future king of the empire, how can we deal with the overall situation of the world?

Think about the ministers above the court who have passed five levels and killed six generals, fighting and fighting among countless elites. How can you control them without any real ability and make them devote themselves to the empire and serve the Zhao Dynasty?

What about being sustainable and working hard?

A king may not understand military affairs or financial planning, but he must understand people's hearts and know how to control different talents to serve him.

"Not to mention, Xiao Ding's literary talent is quite good." Zhao Suo took the memorial of Xiao Ding handed over by Chen Gui, "I thought Xiao Ding was just a strong man who only knew how to kill with a sword, and

This word is also quite good."

"Although Xiao Ding is a military commander, he has been studying since he was a child." Chen Gui said with a smile.

"It's true that Xiao Ding can read and write, but how deep his knowledge is, I'm afraid it's hard to tell." On one side, Russell, the prime minister of the East Palace, said with a smile: "I also read the memorials he wrote in the past. Why?

Baba is a man who talks about things. I'm afraid this memorial was not written by him."

"Who else could it be if he wasn't him?" Chen Gui asked rhetorically.

"I heard that there is a scholar in the Xiao family?" Russell chuckled and said, "It would make sense if this person was the ghostwriter."

Chen Gui said coldly: "That doesn't matter. In any case, the military strategy reported in this memorial can only be written by Xiao Ding. Without a profound understanding of the situation in Northern Xinjiang, it is absolutely impossible to write it.

Although Erlang of the Xiao family has outstanding literary talent, he is unable to predict things like this. It is also a sign of respect for his eldest brother to polish his articles to make the official look more comfortable."

Seeing the heads of the East and West mansions quarreling with each other, Zhao Suo didn't care at all. Isn't this the result he wanted?

If the East and West governments are in harmony and the military and political leaders are like a family, then he, as an official, will probably have no choice but to sit on his hands.

"There is no need for the two Qing families to argue." Zhao Suo said with a smile: "Xiao Yu is also very lucky. He has two sons, one civilized and one military. Needless to say, the older one is already successful. The younger one is outside the world.

Isn't it rumored that the examination for candidates to be elected as a scholar is also a sure thing? I have read that boy's article, and it is indeed very good. When the time comes, if he can really come to the palace and walk in front of me, I will

What’s the harm in giving him a top grade?”

Russell's heart skipped a beat.

Since this year, the official family has been treating the Xiao family like Jane in the heart of the emperor.

First Xiao Yu came to power, and then Xiao Ding came to the court to report on his duties. Promotion was inevitable, but now officials are actually saying such things.

"Officials, this is inappropriate!" He stood up, clasping his fists and saying: "Even if the second son of the Xiao family can go to the Wende Hall, he will eventually have to pass another level. If he is indeed outstanding, the officials will select him as the official.

It doesn’t matter if the person in the top three is even the number one scholar. If he is not the one and the officials forcibly select him, how unfair will it be to others? Moreover, the test papers of the top three must be made public, and then they will not be true, and Mr. Xiao will inevitably be criticized!"

Being scolded by Russell, Zhao Suo couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Your Majesty's words are serious, I am just joking."

"Officials have a golden tongue, and they must never make promises casually!" Russell said with a straight face.

Chen Gui on the other side couldn't stand it any longer and said: "Jieshan, why do you need to do this? In this room today, apart from you and I, only Ke Ming can do it. Is it possible that the official's words will be spread? We won't say it."

Who knows?"

The Keming mentioned by Chen Gui is Zhang Chao and Zhang Keming, the current Commander-in-Chief of the Fourth Army.

After listening to Chen Gui's words, Zhang Chao nodded slightly. As a military general and the emperor's most confidant, he was naturally not angry at Mr. Russell and Luo's criticism of the officials.

In fact, there were two eunuchs and several palace maids in the room, but in Chen Gui's eyes, they were naturally not considered human beings.

Russell bowed and bowed to Zhao Suo, saying that he was wrong. But he was secretly happy in his heart. What he wanted was the words of Chen Gui. With this sentence as the basis, what the official said today would also be

That's it for now.

Nowadays, the official family seems to be extremely fond of the Xiao family. This is a political attitude and represents a trend of the official family towards the next major policy direction of the court. Of course, he cannot allow it to develop.

Different from the stereotyped political attitude, Russell, as the head of the Dongfu, was firmly opposed to war with the Northern Liao Dynasty.

He has reached the pinnacle of his life, and he just wants to remain in the position of chief assistant of Dongfu until he retires peacefully. What good does something like conquering Liao do for him?

If the imperial court really wants to decide on the Northern Expedition, it will have to start preparations from now on. But how long will this preparation take? Based on Russell's understanding of the Song family's background, it will take at least five to ten years to be confident.

In other words, as the ruling leader of the Song Dynasty, in five to ten years, he will face countless troubles, infringe on the interests of countless people to serve this major policy, and who knows how many people will be offended?

And what can he get?

Five to ten years later, I will be almost 70 years old. No matter how good my health is, I have to retire and become an official. If I still refuse to leave, the Shilin Qing Council will kill me.

Is it possible that after working hard for ten years and making countless enemies, I ended up making wedding clothes for others?

If the Northern Expedition failed, others would accuse themselves of not being prepared.

The Northern Expedition was successful. How much contribution can a former husband who became an official have?

Why is Chen Jingsheng so keen on this?

He just hoped that he could replace him because he had offended too many people in the process and could no longer hold the position of head of the East Palace.

If he is really forced to resign, the only one who can naturally take the top position in the East Palace is Chen Jingsheng.

Do you think you can’t see clearly his little thoughts?

The eyes of the two husbands-in-law from the East and West mansions met, and both sides seemed to be smiling, but in the dark, fire was flying, but only the person involved knew it.

Zhao Suo felt a little disappointed in his heart. He really wanted to make such a good story about civil and martial arts! If he could gather them all in one family, wouldn't it be an honor for his official family?

But Russell's words were like a basin of cold water poured on his head, and they also made him understand that even if he was an official, he could not do whatever he wanted. Russell was really capable of stopping him from doing so.

"Not to mention, Xiao Ding's general plan is still on point." Shaking the memorial in his hand, Zhao Suocha changed the subject. "Hebei Road, Hedong Road, and Shaanxi-Gansu Road all started at the same time. Just now.

This is the correct answer to conquer Liao!"

"Officials, Xiao Ding is just considering the issue from the perspective of the military. Let's put aside everything else. The Shaanxi-Gansu Road alone is not a trivial matter." Russell shook his head.
Chapter completed!