When the prince and Wang Fu returned to the palace, the officials had already left. The guards guarding the palace gate saw the prince's carriage and immediately opened the door. Just as they were about to pay their respects, they saw people following behind the prince.
Wang Situ, who came, had not received any news about the release of Wang Fu. They were so stunned that they even forgot to pay homage and quickly blocked the road.
Seeing them blocking his way, the prince became furious and reprimanded sternly: "Wang Situ is here to pay homage to the emperor, how dare you stop them?"
Su Wei immediately made way and bowed to the two of them. The prince was still a little angry, but Wang Fu didn't take it seriously. The two of them just walked in. As soon as they walked outside the palace, they saw Song Dian hurriedly coming.
He came out, bowed to the two of them, and said, "Greetings to His Highness, Gong Situ!"
"Mr. Song, I really can't hide everything in the palace from you. Situ and I have just entered the palace, and you already know about it?"
As the little fat man spoke, Song Dian just smiled humbly, not daring to straighten his back and said: "Your Majesty is waiting in the palace..."
The two walked into the main hall. The unpleasant smell of herbs made Wang Fu frown. When they walked into the main hall, they saw the emperor sitting on the bed, reading a book comfortably. The two of them bowed and said hello to the emperor.
He slowly raised his head, looked at the two of them, and said with a sneer: "Your Majesty, it seems that Wei Ting's food is not bad. I haven't seen you for a few days, so he has gained some weight..."
"The prince personally went to the Tingwei to give orders. How could the people of the Tingwei dare to embarrass the ministers?" Wang Fu's words became a little respectful, but his face was still fearless. The emperor pointed to the side and said: "Sit down...
"
Wang Fu walked a few steps and suddenly froze. He stopped quickly and looked at the prince. The prince sat next to the emperor first, and then Wang Fu sat next to him. Seeing Wang Fu like this,
The emperor narrowed his eyes, waved to the prince, and said, "You go back first...you haven't been to school for three days!"
The little fat man was completely confused. What was going on? He was offered a seat first, and then he was driven away. Since he wanted to leave, why would he let him sit down? It was unnecessary. However, even though he was complaining in his heart, he did not dare to speak out.
He retorted, stood up and bowed to the emperor, and left the hall angrily. The emperor watched him leave and looked at Wang Fu with a more scrutinizing look in his eyes.
"Wang Jiexin, do you know why I hate you so much?"
"I know."
"Why?"
"Everyone in the world hates me because of my pride, but Your Majesty. Otherwise, I would not be loved by Your Majesty because I am too smart."
"Oh, then do you know why I never have the intention to kill you?"
"It's all because I'm too smart."
"Hahaha~~~" The emperor laughed loudly, but he was particularly afraid of Wang Fu. He saw that Wang Fu had changed and was respectful to the prince. He was a little happy, but he was afraid that this was all Wang Fu's pretense.
Even though he was doing it, he still felt fearful in his heart. Moreover, seeing that Wang Fu was still so arrogant after the experience of Tingwei and his entourage, the emperor felt even more angry. He felt that his purpose of suppressing Wang Fu had not been achieved.
In this question and answer, Wang Fu actually told what was on his mind. However, as a minister, you can guess what I am thinking. Is that okay?
The emperor gradually became murderous towards Wang Fu, but he soon took it back. The emperor smiled and said: "It is a major matter of the country. If I were to leave you Wang Jiexin, wouldn't I be exhausted? After such a big incident, I am deeply saddened by the unexpected events and don’t know what to do..."
"Your Majesty, in the past, recruiting talents with virtues only resulted in nothing but wine and rice bags, but they rarely harmed the people. As for now, recruiting talents with talents, Han law should be added to it. Those responsible for harming the people should be severely punished. This is the first step. After this, it will be necessary to rely on the capitals of various places to post. In the future, all postal services will obey the orders of the Three Dukes, strictly investigate local affairs, and implement them according to Han laws. This is the second step. In addition, the scientific merit system should be based on Revise...."
"The annual exam makes officials eager for success and make big mistakes. Therefore, the exam should be taken in four years and five years. In this way, officials will not do anything wrong in order to achieve political achievements as soon as possible... The third reason is .”
"Fourth, supervisory officials may also be colluding with local officials. Therefore, I hope that your majesty will order that in the future, if the people have grievances against the local government, they can appeal. The local governor will inspect each county once every month. If the people have grievances, they can appeal to the county. Li Duyou inspected each county once in a month and reported any grievances he heard. He inspected the pavilion once in a month and reported grievances in the temple. The censor was sent to the prefectures and counties so that people who had grievances could appeal. In addition, , If the people want to go to Luoyang to meet the three princes and report it, the pavilions in various places cannot stop it, and those who violate it will be punished!"
"Fifth..."
Wang Fu recounted what he thought and felt in prison, listing more than ten items in total. The emperor listened very carefully, and he had to admit that no one in the court could match him in terms of governing the country. Wang Fu is on par with him, especially when it comes to big strategies. The Old Taiwei, He Gong, Qiao Gong and so on together may not have the same ability as him. It's a pity that I still don't dare to trust him too much, nor do I. Dare to leave all major matters in his hands.
After Wang Fu finished speaking, the emperor immediately asked him to write down what he had just thought. Wang Fu picked up the pen and ink and wrote down exactly what he had just said. The emperor picked up the paper and He looked at it seriously for a long time, then put it down, laughed, took Wang Fu's hand, and said kindly: "I have Liu Hou here, so why worry?"
Wang Fu nodded and said: "What your Majesty said is very...very praiseworthy..."
"Hahaha, okay, I will hold a court meeting tomorrow. Regarding the reform of scientific achievements, I will follow what the prince said..."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The two chatted for a while, and then Wang Fu was about to leave. He stood up slowly and was about to leave. He walked a few steps, but stopped again, looking hesitant. After thinking for a long time, he still sighed, Said: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty once said that the world cannot be without ministers. This statement is too ridiculous. Of all the officials in the court, Your Majesty is the only one who is indispensable. I hope that Your Majesty will pay attention to your health and take good care of yourself..."
Wang Fu pursed his lips and left without saying anything else.
The emperor stared at him coldly until he walked out of the room, and suddenly a bit of blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth. The emperor stretched out his hand, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and frowned, "Did he find out? How is this possible... "
Wang Fu walked out of the palace, looked up at the sky, and lamented, why is an emperor who pretends to be sick so anxious to establish authority for the prince, and why is he so eager to submit to the prince? No king will tolerate the prince's behavior. He cultivated his own power early, let alone the majestic and powerful Holy Emperor today? What's more, the smell of herbs in the hall doesn't seem to be caused by pretense...
Nowadays, all the officials may think that the emperor is deliberately pretending to be ill. The emperor must be more jealous of him because of his words. However, as a minister, there are some things that he must say. Wang Jiexin, Wang Jiexin...