In Jiankang in June, it started to get hotter, the streets were quite dry, and the wind could occasionally blow up some dust.
People along the streets in Jiankang would fetch water from wells and pour it on the streets to prevent dust from filling the sky.
At the south gate of Jiankang, several carriages entered the city. After the carriages entered the city, they went straight to the north city. It didn't take long before they arrived at the Jin Palace.
First, a young man jumped out of a carriage. After getting off the carriage, he picked up two women from the carriage behind. The two women's bellies were slightly swollen, and they were obviously pregnant.
After the young man brought several women into Prince Jin's Mansion, about an hour later, he changed into the clothes of a prince, came out of Prince Jin's Mansion, and entered the imperial city. He was quickly introduced to the palace by the eunuchs.
In the Manna Palace, I saw His Majesty the Emperor.
After seeing the emperor, he knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty, Li Mu, kowtow to your Majesty."
The emperor had a rare moment of leisure. He was reading a storybook that was widely circulated on the market. Hearing this, he put down the miscellaneous books in his hands, stood up, walked to the prince of Jin Dynasty, helped him up, and said with a smile: "It's all my own."
Man, Brother Wang is too polite."
Li Mu stood up, lowered his head slightly, and said: "Your Majesty, I have been ordered to come back from Fuzhou to pay the order."
The emperor looked at him with a smile and said, "I heard that Brother Wang came back alone, and he also brought back several ladies."
"Ashamed."
Li Mu lowered his head and said, "I did take in several concubines in Fuzhou. This time I returned to Jiankang and brought back two who are pregnant."
In this era, people in the upper class, relatives of the emperor, nobles, and scholars, including those scholars who were awarded Jinshi or even the People's Government, did not take concubines seriously.
For example, Li Mu had more than two concubines in Fuzhou, but only two of them became pregnant, so he only brought two back, and the others were given to a scholar in Fuzhou who fell in love with him.
Moreover, being pregnant was not a good time to travel, especially in this era when the roads were not smooth, but he still rushed back with two pregnant women.
"Brother Wang is so handsome."
The emperor touched his palm and said with emotion: "You are living happily in Southeast, but I am very busy in Jiankang. If I had known this, I might as well have let the uncle of the King of Jin take the throne. Now I am also a romantic prince like Brother Wang."
"
Hearing this, Li Mu, who originally had a smile on his face, immediately changed his face and knelt on the ground again, touching his head to the ground: "Your Majesty, my father never had such an idea, not even at the beginning.
!”
The emperor frowned, shook his head and said, "I just said casually, we are all from the same family, with the same grandfather. Brother Wang is too unconventional."
He helped Li Mu up again and asked Gao Ming to move a chair and give him a seat.
After Li Mu sat down, the emperor returned to his seat and said with a smile: "Brother Wang, what are your plans when you come back this time?"
Li Mu lowered his head slightly and said: "Before I came back, someone from Jiankang had gone to pick up the errand of the commander of the coastal capital. I was relieved of my burden and felt relaxed. Therefore, I didn't have any plans. I was going to rest in Jiankang for a few days."
Year."
The emperor shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "It's not enough to rest for a few years. I still hope that Brother Wang will do errands for me."
The Crown Prince of Jin quickly lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty has given orders, and I will naturally obey them."
"We'll talk about the errands later. I want to talk to Brother Wang about the coastal affairs."
Today I was a little surprised and asked: "Didn't His Majesty send a commander of the imperial army to take over the position of commander-in-chief of the coastal capital? Is there anything else to discuss in the coastal capital?"
"The coastal capital that Xiao Ping took over has only 5,000 people left."
The nominal establishment of the coastal capital is 25,000 people, but 20,000 of them have been taken away by Shen Yi, leaving only 1,000 people in each of the five guard posts.
The emperor looked at Li Mu and said, "How can one be so handsome who has 5,000 people under his command?"
Li Mu smiled and said, "Isn't this the Commander-in-Chief who oversees five thousand people?"
The emperor coughed and smiled: "Brother Wang, you are still different."
Li Mu thought for a while and said: "The troops of the Coastal Capital Division are all in Huai'an now. I heard that they are fighting well in Huai'an. Does your Majesty want Xiao Weishuai to go to Huai'an to take over the military affairs?"
The emperor shook his head: "What I mean is that we are going to let the coastal capitals recruit new soldiers and fill them into the capitals."
He looked at Li Mu and said slowly: "The troops currently in Huai'an will be organized into the Huai'an Army. They have fought against the Qi people and won many battles. In the future, they will be sent back to the southeast to protect the five city ships.
It’s too humiliating.”
Li Mu thought about it for a while and replied: "This is all a matter of your majesty's thoughts. I am involved in it, so it is not easy for me to comment."
"Brother Wang has a good relationship with Shen Qi, doesn't he?"
The emperor took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "I should speak for Shen Qi now."
Li Mu shook his head slightly: "I do have some friendship with Shen Yi, but the friendship has nothing to do with official business. However, Your Majesty, you want to recruit new soldiers from the southeast to fill the coastal capital. This is equivalent to expanding the army by 20,000, plus the three soldiers from Huai'an.
Ten thousand troops, within a few years, the imperial court has expanded its army to more than fifty thousand."
"A few days ago, the Qi people came to discuss peace. At this time, your Majesty is expanding the army. I am afraid that the princes in the temple will not agree."
"It doesn't cost them any money."
The emperor snorted: "My five shipping companies are enough to cover the expenses. Do I need their consent?"
As he said that, he looked at Li Mu and said with a smile: "Brother Wang is quite well informed. Even in the southeast, he knows about the peace talks between Qi people. Was it Uncle Wang who told you?"
Li Mu slowly shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, not only this minister knows about it, but everyone in Dachen knows about it."
Hearing these words, the emperor was stunned for a moment, and then his face became a little ugly. He patted the table with his hand and cursed: "These stinky Confucians! They really stink!"
Li Mu was startled by these words, stood up quickly, looked around, turned back and smiled bitterly at the emperor: "If your Majesty's words spread, those people will say them behind your back again..."
The emperor curled his lips: "That's exactly what I told them. They are all so well-behaved in front of me, but they do these little tricks behind my back."
After taking a deep breath, His Majesty the Emperor felt better. He looked at his cousin and said, "Brother Wang, a few days ago, Shen Qi won another victory in Huai'an, crossing the Huai River and defeating thousands of enemies.
"
"But when the official document reached the court, some officials did not buy it and were worried that it would further antagonize Northern Qi and trigger a national war."
"The resentment in my heart is hard to calm down."
Having said this, the emperor paused and continued.
"Brother Wang, the civil servants are so complex that I can't directly touch them, and they have to contribute to many things, so the situation has become a bit complicated now."
"So I need Brother Wang to run an errand for me."
Li Mu stood up, bowed and said: "Your Majesty orders."
"Sit down and talk, sit down and talk."
The emperor waved his hand.
After Li Mu sat down, he reached out and touched his chin. He said: "The situation in the court has become a little complicated now because the people of Qi sent envoys to Jiankang, so I also want to send envoys to Yan."
All."
He looked at Li Mu and said with a smile: "Brother Wang, rest at home for half a month. How about you go out for me?"
The prince of Jin Dynasty was surprised: "Your Majesty, there are many officials in the Ministry of Rites, how can I get the ministers' turn?"
"Those weaklings won't offend anyone."
The emperor smiled and said: "Brother Wang, I think you have stronger bones. You can go to Yandu for me and offend the people of Qi."
Li Mu still didn't understand, and immediately asked: "May I ask, Your Majesty, how to offend the people of Qi?"
"Brother Wang, go and talk to them."
The emperor looked calm.
"As long as they cede Shandong and Henan provinces to me..."
"No, give it back to me."
"I will make a good alliance with them."
"We have been loving each other for generations and will never offend each other."