Chapter 20 If you are a man, fight (3) (Literature Network)
The night slowly fell, and it was time to light up the lanterns. The lights in the palace gradually lit up, and soon they were as bright as stars. In the huge palace, countless maids and eunuchs were holding lanterns in the palace. People were walking back and forth, delivering dinner and other things to the masters of each palace. It was a busy scene, but the Xiande Palace was solemn and quiet, whether it was the imperial guards on duty outside the palace or the guards waiting inside. The eunuchs in the palace all stood there holding their breaths, not even daring to take a breath, because the current emperor, Xiao Qian, was playing chess at the moment - he was always generous to his subordinates, especially to his attendants. They are even more considerate, and even if they make small mistakes, most of them will laugh it off, but there is one rule that cannot be violated, that is, important matters must not interfere with the current chess game. Once you make a mistake, you will not be lenient. Everyone is an old man in the palace, so they naturally know this article very well, so it is natural for them to be cautious.
Speaking of which, Emperor Hongxuan Xiao Qian is already in his early fifties, but he does not look old at all. His beard and hair are still black and shiny, his eyes are bright and energetic, and he has a face with a Chinese character that shows a rather heroic air. Even though he was in his early forties, no one would doubt that he also had special hobbies in his daily life. Emperor Hongxuan never touched those activities such as cockfighting and cricket fighting that the late emperor liked. Except for an occasional field hunt, he also I only have a hobby like playing Go. However, because of the busy state affairs, I don't play it often. But the old people who have followed the emperor for many years know that when there are important decisions to be made, Emperor Hongxuan always plays chess. As an aid to thinking, of course, it would not be an ordinary person who could compete with Emperor Hongxuan. At this moment, sitting at the head of Emperor Hongxuan was none other than Zuo Xiang Pei Mingli, the great scholar of Zhongji Palace who had been in charge of the government for many years.
Over the years since the founding of the Dayin Dynasty, the court system has gone through many changes. At first, it was a system of three provinces and six ministries. After the Taiping Rebellion, Emperor Taiping, the great emperor of the Zhongxing Dynasty, issued an edict to reform the whole system and changed the system of three provinces and six ministries into a cabinet system, with left and right prime ministers. , six ministers, bachelors of the Hanlin Academy, and courtiers who have been awarded the honors of Wuyingdian, Wenhuadian, Wenyuange, etc., form the cabinet. The left and right ministers are the first and second ministers, and they direct the government affairs. Today, there are eleven cabinet ministers in the Hongxuan Dynasty. Among them, Pei Mingli, the Left Prime Minister, is not the one who has served the longest time, but he is the most trusted confidant of Emperor Hongxuan - he was originally Emperor Hongxuan's Long Qianshi. Counselor, after Hongxuan became emperor, he entered the court as an official. He started as a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and was quickly promoted to the high position of right minister. In the fourth year of Hongxuan, when the former left minister retired, Pei Mingli took over as left minister. His position has lasted for eleven years, but he still remains standing, which shows that his ability as an official is truly extraordinary.
The chess game has reached the middle of the game. Both sides are moving slowly, and neither of them has spoken. They just play silently. Except for the occasional "click" sound of chess pieces falling on the board, there is no sound in the hall. In this silence, a middle-aged eunuch quietly walked into the hall without speaking, but stood silently aside.[
"How?" Although the footsteps of the middle-aged eunuch were so light that they could be ignored, Emperor Hongxuan, who was staring down at the chessboard, still noticed his arrival and asked two words without looking up.
"Your Majesty, the report has already begun. Before anything happens..." When the middle-aged eunuch heard Emperor Hongxuan speak, he did not dare to neglect. He took a few steps forward and reported in a low voice. Surprisingly, it was about the prince's night banquet.
He explained everything in detail about everyone's speech and behavior in his words.
"Explore again!" Emperor Hongxuan quietly listened to the middle-aged eunuch's report. After being silent for a long time, he casually dropped a piece on the chessboard, and then gave instructions with an expression on his face.
"Yes, I obey the order." Emperor Hongxuan opened his mouth. The middle-aged eunuch dared not to obey. He hurriedly bowed and accepted the promise. In a flash, he disappeared into the darkness outside the palace.
"Your Majesty, the third son of the king is quite heroic in this matter. Haha, it is a man who takes charge of the battle. It is a bit like King Xiang's style back then." Not long after the middle-aged eunuch left, Pei Mingli, who had always been silent, suddenly laughed and walked towards
The pieces were placed on the chessboard, and he commented with a smile.
"Hmm." Emperor Hongxuan nodded noncommittally and murmured slightly, but his eyes never left the chessboard. He frowned slightly and thought for a while, then said: "Gu (Pei Mingli's word), it seems to Yi Er
, who can win among these two?"
"In reply to Your Majesty, in my opinion, Your Majesty is the winner." Pei Mingli smiled slyly, stroked his long beard on his chest, and replied seriously.
"Oh? Hahaha..." Upon hearing Pei Mingli's nonsense words, Emperor Hongxuan was stunned for a moment, and then laughed loudly. After laughing for a while, he stretched out a finger and pointed at Pei Mingli and said:
"You, it's been almost thirty years, and you're still as witty as ever. Just wait and see. Come, play chess, play chess!"
Emperor Hongxuan said that he would continue to play chess, and Pei Mingli would not disobey his orders. He laughed, said no more, and buried himself in the chessboard. The monarch and his ministers continued to play, and the silence in the hall was restored again...
Two flowers bloomed, one on each side. Not to mention that Emperor Hongxuan and his ministers were playing a strange game of Go in the Xiande Palace, but it showed that both Xiao Wei and Li Zhendong in the Virtue Palace presented thirty as the prize for the fight.
After collecting thousands of taels of silver notes, the two young eunuchs in charge of counting quickly verified all the two stacks of silver notes. They found that there were no mistakes and hurriedly reported it to the prince Xiao Ruhai.
"Ninth brother, Li Aiqing, do you two really want to fight?" Xiao Ruhai dismissed the two young eunuchs who were complaining, looked at Xiao Wei with a so-called expression on his face, and then at Li Zhendong with a sneer on his face, thinking about it.
He softened his tone and tried to persuade me again.
Xiao Wei didn't bother to answer the question at all. He just nodded and gave the answer. Li Zhendong bowed and saluted: "Your Highness, please arbitrate in this battle."
"Well, since you insist on fighting, I will not force you to persuade me. Since I am the middle man, I have to say a few words. This is a dispute between your wills, and it is not insurmountable.
It's a matter of mortal enmity, just decide the winner, don't hurt the harmony, just let it end." Seeing that neither of them changed their attitude, Xiao Ruhai said no more, and finished what he should say as the arbiter,
He waved his hand and said, "You can start now."
As a "ambitious" disciple of the Eighth Domain, Li Zhendong was very well-informed and knew that Xiao Wei was a close disciple of Mr. Shu Xuecheng, and even more clearly knew that he had only studied under Mr. Shu for three years, although he didn't know clearly.
How good is Xiao Wei's martial arts, but he thinks that after practicing hard for more than ten years under "Mr. Sword", who is as famous as Mr. Shu, he will definitely be better than a playboy like Xiao Wei. At this time, Xiao Ruhai opened his mouth and said,
He immediately laughed, walked slowly to the opposite side of Xiao Wei, and asked with a sarcastic look on his face: "Little prince, Li uses a sword, but I don't know what kind of weapon the young prince wants to use?"
Despite Xiao Wei's nonchalant expression, he seemed to be fully confident in the upcoming battle. In fact, his heart was beating a drum at the moment. After all, this was the first time he had ever formally fought against someone in his life.
How could he not be nervous? However, Xiao Wei would not do anything stupid that brought nervousness to his face. When Li Zhendong asked, Xiao Wei immediately laughed, shook his hand, and hid it in his big sleeves.
The folding fan in his hand appeared in his hand, and opened with a "swish" sound. While shaking the fan, he said with a smile: "I have heard for a long time that Mr. Li is blowing the willow sword with the wind, which is quite interesting. Xiao Wang is not talented.
, just use this folding fan to learn Mr. Li’s cleverness.”
"You..." Upon hearing Xiao Wei's words, Li Zhendong, who was still smiling at first, turned livid with anger. He gritted his teeth and glared at Xiao Wei, his eyes so red that he almost bled.
——The folding fan in Xiao Wei's hand is not a strange weapon made of Jinzi stainless steel. It is just an ordinary folding fan. However, the painting on it has some origins. It is the handiwork of Yan Ningpei, a famous painter today, and it has been brought to the market.
It's worth a lot of silver. Can it be used as a weapon? That's just a joke. Using this thing as a weapon isn't it an obvious look down on people. Even if a member of a famous family like Li Zhendong does his best, he won't suffer.
After being humiliated like this, his murderous aura overflowed and he wanted to tear Xiao Wei into pieces.
"What's the matter? Is Mr. Li in any trouble?" Facing Li Zhendong who was about to kill someone, Xiao Wei shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and asked with an innocent look.
"Huh..." Li Zhendong was not a member of the public after all. Although he was half-dead with anger, he did not completely lose his composure. He took a long breath and suppressed the urge to kill. He looked at Xiao Wei with cold eyes and waved his hands.
: "The young prince is indeed so arrogant, but Li doesn't want to take advantage of the young prince for nothing. Since the young prince has said so, then Li will just accompany him empty-handed. Please, young prince!"
"It's easy to say, it's easy to say, Mr. Li, please!" Xiao Wei, who didn't know how much he weighed, saw that the method had taken effect, and the uneasiness in his heart was reduced a lot. He laughed and folded the fan.
As soon as he closed his feet, he stood with his feet unevenly spaced. His whole body seemed to be loose and tight, with an unpredictable appearance, and he was already in a fighting state in an instant.
"Okay, very good." Li Zhendong has much more experience in fighting than Xiao Wei. When he saw Xiao Wei put on such a posture, his heart trembled, and he put away the remaining contempt. He kept saying good things, but his body
He tensed up in an instant, straightened his back, and stood as straight as a javelin. Under the drastic change in his temperament, his eyes were as sharp as an unsheathed sword, but he did not rush to take action, but silently spoke with him.
As Xiao Wei faced off, a chilling air spread rapidly in the spacious Mingde Hall...[