The next morning.

It was a little brighter.

There is rain.

The drizzle was light and drizzling, lingering on the bluestone slabs on the pedestrian roads in the middle of the capital.

At this time, people from the Wucheng Military Police have appeared in the streets and alleys and started cleaning.

After His Highness became the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, he was in charge of the five cities of the military commander and recruited a large number of cleaning personnel. Before the hour of Mao, he had to get up early to clean the city.

At first, people thought that this was a waste of money, but slowly, when the garbage and the flow of sewage on the street were all wiped out, people realized the benefits of this cleaning.

This is how people are. When they get used to better things, they can never go back.

It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but it is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

This statement applies to every subtle part of life.

The glimmer of morning light ushered in a new day. Li Dongyang has not slept all night and his face is a little bad.

It is called reading, but in fact, it shows worries.

The situation in the palace is really weird. Your Majesty has not summoned the ministers for many days.

So much so that Li Dongyang didn’t know what His Majesty’s dragon body is now.

But since what was reported was tuberculosis, then the situation was already very bad.

Now, Your Majesty suddenly summoned the sect king and important officials. What does this... mean?

Now it is speculation that His Majesty is critically ill and the worst situation has already occurred.

As a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Li Dongyang said he was not worried, but that was fake.

He hadn't slept all night, guessing all kinds of possibilities.

At this time... it's dawn.

Seeing that the study was still on, his son Li Zhaofan came in: "Father..."

Li Dongyang nodded at him, saw that Li Zhaofan looked strange, and said, "Why, I look bad?"

"This..." Li Zhaofan glanced at Li Dongyang's haggard face and smiled bitterly: "Didn't my father sleep all night? He is about to enter the palace. Can my father's body be eaten?"

Li Dongyang's frown couldn't help but stretch out and smiled: "No obstacle, you can take a break in the car along the way."

Li Zhaofan sighed: "Does my father worry about His Majesty's business?"

"People have birth, old age, sickness and death. Your Majesty is in power and I am grateful to me. My grace is as heavy as Mount Tai. Oh... It's a pity, but... it's not the time to care about these things, but the prince is worried about me."

Li Zhaofan raised his eyebrows and said in surprise: "Prince?"

Li Dongyang had no taboos in front of his son and said bluntly: "If your Majesty really fails, the prince will ascend the throne, but the recent situation in Beijing is really weird."

Li Zhaofan said, "Can my father also hear about the news that some clan relatives in the capital are dissatisfied?"

Li Dongyang smiled and said, "It seems that their actions are really not very meticulous, and everyone in the capital knows it."

Li Zhaofan also laughed: "Yes, if the king is not secret, he will lose his ministers; if the minister is not secret, he will lose his body. But if he has ulterior motives but not secret, this is the way to die, which shows that these people cannot accomplish great things."

Li Dongyang's restrained smile said meaningfully: "But what if... they deliberately wanted to get it to everyone know?"

Li Zhaofan said in surprise: "Ah..."

"The news that is leaking now is just the tip of the iceberg, but it is already scary." Li Dongyang paused, then smiled and said, "Do you remember Dong Zhongshu?"

"Ah...this...one who has read books doesn't know."

Li Dongyang said: "Dong Zhongshu suggested that Emperor Wu of Han respect Confucianism alone, and Emperor Wu of Han adopted it. Since then, there has been only Confucianism in the world. This respect for Confucianism alone is not only the world's knowledge, but its essence is that the same book and the same carriage are the same. Even the knowledge is determined to be one, which can make the emperor have great power and no one can covet great power."

Li Zhaofan nodded, but he didn't understand Li Dongyang's meaning.

Li Dongyang immediately said, "The problem is here. But if the emperor monopolizes the power and there seems to be no one to check or balance. Therefore, Dong Zhongshu proposed the theory of the response of heaven and man, which not only adds orthodoxy to the emperor, but also raises another problem. Since everything comes from the original intention of heaven, the emperor is the son of heaven. If there is a strange phenomenon in heaven, it is like a collapse of the earth or a major disaster, then... how to explain it? These ministers who are well-read in poetry and books advocated a method called a major disaster is God's warning to the emperor. If there is a major disaster, it must be that the emperor is wrong. The emperor should reflect on his own mistakes and correct his mistakes in his own governance."

Li Zhaofan nodded thoughtfully, but... he still couldn't understand the meaning.

When Li Dongyang said this, he couldn't help but laugh: "These ministers who are well-read in poetry and books think that this will be perfect. The emperor is in power and is ordered by heaven. God will give a warning at any time, but God is angry and gives a warning. How can I interpret it?"

Li Zhaofan thought for a while: "How to interpret it is of course in the hands of those who are well-read about poetry and books."

"Yes." Li Dongyang said: "Whoever reads more books, whoever is in his position, who is the prime minister will have the power to explain the warning of God, and therefore he can use the reasons of heaven to criticize the emperor's faults. In this way, the king can use Confucianism to be the only one, and control all officials; the minister can use the response of heaven and man to check and balance the emperor at the same time. It is really unfathomable for those who can come up with this set of Confucian laws."

Li Zhaofan nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Dong Gong has already become the sages that are beyond the reach of future generations."

Li Dongyang waved his hand and said lightly: "You, my father and son are closed, so there is no need to say these nerds. Later, this set of checks and balances of the heavenly beings was broken by the emperor's backhand. How to break it? Yi Er, God is angry and a major disaster occurs. The emperor is wrong. Then the emperor needs to correct it. How to correct it... Replace the Prime Minister!"

Li Zhaofan looked confused and thought about it carefully... It was true.

Li Dongyang said: "God warns you once, and then replace one. When God is angry, you can't let the emperor be punished. But the prime minister is the executor of the emperor's governance. Since it is said that the emperor is born with a strange phenomenon and the emperor is wrong, it is reasonable to replace the prime minister. The emperor has realized his mistake. In this way, the so-called response of heaven and man becomes a joke. The person who is most afraid of God's anger is no longer the emperor, but these officials who are well-read and well-read and the heads of the ministers. From then on, no one will casually associate the natural vision with the emperor's fault. If the prime minister wrote a letter to confess the emperor's fault, isn't this causing trouble for himself? If the ministers below write a letter to the prime minister, wouldn't it be impossible to get along with the prime minister?"

Speaking of this, Li Dongyang smiled: "So, the key to the problem lies in this. Being a father is also a prime minister. I know that the world is determined by the emperor. The emperor is happy and angry. Therefore, over the years, I have worked hard for my father and planned for Your Majesty. Fortunately, Your Majesty is still wise and has never made any mistakes as a father. Now these clans want to take the opportunity to attack, whether it is to use the response of heaven and man to forcefully follow the rules of the ancestors, for the emperor, it can be broken in a flash. Their life, death, honor and disgrace are all in the mind of the emperor. I think they understand this truth very well, but... why do they dare to do such a rash?"

Li Dongyang asked and answered: "I think... they wanted to seize the critical moment of Your Majesty's critical illness. At this critical moment, the emperor was most afraid of something. Anything that could happen was extremely terrible. This was related to the death of the father and the son... and it was impossible to neglect a single bit. The princes of the sect attacked at this time because they were taking a dangerous move."

Li Zhaofan nodded, sighed, and said, "Yes, my father thinks your Majesty will give in."

"The emperor is very clear about his thoughts. Even if he is seriously ill, he will not fulfill their wishes. As for His Royal Highness, although he is in the temple, he has mixed praises and criticisms, but among the people and the people, the people are grateful to him. He is not worried about these things for his father... This is also something that even his father has lost his head and cannot understand. If these sect kings have the intention, they should know that it is not easy for them to accomplish things! But why do they still take risks?"

As if awakened by a word, Li Zhaofan said in surprise: "Can it be...father, can it be? Is it? They have another move?"

"No," Li Dongyang sighed: "What I have been thinking about is what the killer behind them is, and whether he can force His Majesty to make up his mind..."

Li Zhaofan couldn't wait to continue asking, "Did your father think of it?"

"Thinking of it." Li Dongyang got up. It was already late and he was about to enter the palace as soon as possible: "After thinking about it, their only way was to cook raw rice and cook it."

"Cook the raw rice into cooked rice?"

Li Dongyang glanced at Li Zhaofan and sighed: "Zhaofan, although my father has joined the cabinet and become the prime minister, I have nothing to pass on to you in this life. I will leave something for you today. If you take it firmly, you will be able to have food and clothing in this life and not to shame our ancestors."

Li Zhaofan looked at Li Dongyang, blinked, and said in confusion: "I don't know what it is?"

"A favor, a favor to His Highness the Crown Prince and Duke Qi must make them owe you this favor."

Then, Li Dongyang smiled and said, "It's getting late. Hurry up. You go to Xishan Academy in person. Duke Qi is afraid that he will be ready to enter the palace at this time. At least you have to intercept him halfway and tell him to send more guards to protect him. Not only that, Xishan Academy must also be prevented... Otherwise, a big disaster will come."

Li Dongyang said, squinted his eyes, and a complex light flashed through his eyes, and said with a profound meaning: "For my father, I am about to leave. Today... will be a long day. I hope... I can be safe and sound."

Li Zhaofan remembered his father's words seriously, and did not dare to neglect them, so he hurried out.

He walked all the way to the west and walked halfway, and he saw Fang Jifan's carriage coming towards him.

He shouted: "Duke of Qi, Duke of Qi... My surname is Li, my father's name is Dongyang, I have a big deal to tell you about something!"
Chapter completed!