After going to court, Su Ruyu went to the Ministry of Rites alone. As one of the six ministries of Chu, the Ministry of Rites managed many common affairs in Chu.
These include worshiping ancestral temples, receiving foreign guests, conducting diplomacy with other countries, etc.
But in fact, there has been little diplomacy to do in these years. Except for the easing of relations with the Southern Tang Dynasty, whether it is facing the barbarians on the grasslands in the south or the Turkic tribes in the mountains and forests in the east, there is only one word - fight!
Originally, there was also the task of divination and choosing auspicious days for the royal family, which was also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites. However, later Chu Zheng set up a divine fortune-telling pavilion and gathered a group of Qi practitioners, and this task was assigned to
Jingyue's head has relieved some of the burden on the Ministry of Rites.
But even so, officials' official uniforms, seals and other items are still made by the Ministry of Rites, so the first thing Su Ruyu did after going to court was naturally to go to the Ministry of Rites to pick up her official uniforms.
In the past, the carriages and horses were always very slow. By the time Su Ruyu returned home after walking around the palace, it was already time for dinner.
During this period, Su's mother naturally had to greet Su Ruyu. She mainly kept saying that her son had lost a lot of weight in going to the countryside, and that his unscrupulous father had to let him go to the countryside and endure hardship for three years.
When they left, Su Ruyu and Su Mo had agreed that they would go to Su's mother to cry when they came back, but at this time Su Ruyu had not spoken yet, but her mother's tears fell first.
After finally calming down her mother's emotions, Su Ruyu could withdraw from the dining table and return to her room.
The first thing Su Ruyu did after returning to her room was to take out the brand new official uniform of a third-grade minister of household affairs and put it on herself.
This is not to say that he couldn't wait to wear it, but after he came back from the palace, his father Su Wang told him to put on his official uniform and go to the yard of his father's study after dinner.
By the time Su Ruyu came to the yard in official uniform, Su Wang had already ordered people to move two deck chairs, and he was lying in one of the chairs with his eyes closed and meditating.
"sit down!"
Probably feeling that his son had arrived, Su Wang asked him to sit down before he saluted. The latter no longer had the fear and uneasiness he had when he saw his father before, and he lay down on the chair next to his father with a relaxed expression.
.
"It seems that you haven't met the guy named Zhu in the past three years. You should be, otherwise you shouldn't have made so much progress."
Su Wang closed his eyes and asked and answered himself, without giving his son a chance to speak.
"But there are some things that he can teach you, and there are some things that he has never experienced himself, so how should he teach you? When he entered politics, the previous dynasty was at the end of its rope, and even the royal family of the Great Zhao Kingdom wanted to see
He and Lu Xiangrui acted with faces, so naturally he didn't know that he should always have a sense of awe when facing the royal family."
Su Ruyu didn't speak until this moment. He clearly knew the purpose of his father asking him to come here today.
In addition to teaching him something, he also wanted to make him recognize his identity. Su Wang waited for a while, then continued after noticing that his son did not respond.
"In ancient times, there was a saying that accompanies a king like a tiger, so in the future you should always remember that the status between the king and his ministers is insurmountable. You were not in the officialdom before, so you don't need to pay too much attention to some things, everyone will do the same.
I treat you like a child, but it will be different from now on."
At this point, even Su Wang was a little hesitant. Even with his identity, he would still feel a little uneasy when he said the next words, because if these words fell into the ears of outsiders, it would be a bit treacherous.
Su Wang probably wanted to better convey some profound truths to his son, so after thinking for a long time, he finally said some unspeakable words.
The friendship between him and Chu Zheng was very deep. Even if Chu Zheng heard this, he would just laugh it off.
"I know that you have had a sworn relationship with the prince Chu Wushuang since you were a child, and my Su family has long been labeled as a party to the prince. However, this does not matter, but you must understand one thing in your heart. If Chu Wushuang becomes the prince in the future,
Once you really sit in that seat, you won't be able to get along with him so casually."
Su Wang seemed to have remembered something
The interesting thing is that he burst out laughing at this moment.
"At the very least, taking the emperor to a brothel will no longer be possible."
Facing his father's deliberate teasing, Su Ruyu couldn't laugh because he knew the meaning of his father's words in his heart.
The king is the guide for the minister, and his father hopes that he can correct his attitude and not take the emperor as a creature too simply.
Su Ruyu actually understood that what his father said was correct, but he felt a little uncomfortable for some reason.
Perhaps sensing his son's restraint, Su Wang opened his mouth to comfort him.
"You have grown up. You can speak boldly whatever is on your mind. Tonight, it is just a heart-to-heart talk between us father and son."
Su Ruyu was not in a hurry and did not speak because he had not yet figured it out in his heart, and Su Wang did not urge his son with words.
Some things and some truths cannot be understood by others once they are spoken. Only when you think clearly can you understand them.
The time for a stick of incense passed, and Su Ruyu suddenly stood up from the chair and bowed respectfully to her father. The latter was still lying on the chair with his eyes closed, leisurely.
"Father, there are some truths that the child knows in his heart, but there is no way to put them in his pocket. The child always believes that some things will not change with the passage of time and changes in location. The child may not be able to change certain facts, but at least he can
Change your thoughts."
After saying that, Su Ruyu didn't look at his father anymore but chose to turn around and leave. Frankly speaking, during the time of that stick of incense, Su Ruyu may not have wavered in his thoughts.
It was only then that Su Wang opened his eyes. He looked at Su Ruyu's back with a melancholy look, but until the end he did not say anything to ask his son to come back.
It is enough to say the truth once. If you say it a few times, the truth will no longer be a truth but a wordy person. And he himself is not a wordy person, right?
Looking up at the moon, people say that people today see the moon for the first time by the river, and when will the bright moon shine on old friends? At this time, Su Wang recalled a scene from decades ago for no reason.
The moonlight was as cool as water, and under such a bright moon, many high-spirited young men who had just started their careers as soldiers in Liaozhou took wine and swore an oath.
"Chu Tian, Su Wang, Lu Xiangrui, Xiao Shanyu, Cheng Yijie, He Ren'an, Ma Suiliang..."
"The emperor and the sky are above, and the thick earth is below. We swear here today that we will become brothers of the opposite sex in the future, sharing blessings and suffering together..."
Thinking of this, Su Wang stopped thinking about it. He used to think that many things would not change, but what about this moment? He was not the only one watching the moon in the yard.
"Where should you go?"
Before he closed his eyes again, he muttered this sentence, and he didn't know whether he was talking to those old brothers or Su Ruyu and Chu Wushuang.
…
The moon shines on people, and people look at the moon. However, Su Wang and Su Ruyu are not the only people looking at the moon at this time. In the imperial garden of the palace, Chu Zheng also called his two sons to his side.
However, Chu Wushuang and Chu Tianxiong were not as lucky as Su Ruyu. There was only one chair, so they could only stand respectfully beside Chu Zheng.
"You have grown up, and I have not had a good heart-to-heart talk with you. Today there are no kings and ministers here, only father and son. I want to hear your truest thoughts."
Chu Zheng was the first to speak and roughly set the direction of tonight's conversation. Otherwise, the two sons with different political views would probably quarrel again. If this happened later, it would be him, the father, who would have a headache.
"Actually, I still don't know what you are thinking in your hearts for so long. Please tell me what kind of country you most want to see our Dachu become. Wushuang, you can tell me first."
Chu Wushuang took a step forward after hearing Chu Zheng's words.
"Father, in my opinion, the most important thing we in Chu State should do now is to cultivate our health and recuperate. The wars fought in the past few decades have already finished the wars in the next three hundred years. Now, whether it is to expand territory or expand territory,
It's still too early to regain the lost ground, and neither will the child.
It means that military towns are not important, but it is far from the time to fully develop the military."
As soon as Chu Wushuang finished speaking, Chu Tianxiong retorted.
"Isn't it time now? Then when will it be the time? When those prairie barbarians and Turkic tribes arrive at the gate of the palace, then it will be the time! They talk about cultivating their health, but most of the annual grain harvest is still
It’s not like it fell into the hands of the nobles in the capital and local gentry. After so many years, the common people can only make ends meet.”
Having said this, Chu Tianxiong took out a ledger from his arms. It seemed that he had been prepared for it.
"Father, there are things I have long wanted to say. This is a statistic I made privately. In the capital city alone, there are no less than thirty large households that receive millions of tons of grain per year. If this were the case in the entire world,
Think about it, how many such big households there are! But those good men and women on the border of Dachu are still worried about millions of tons of military rations every year, and they are still in trouble for the military pay of one to two or seven dollars a month!"
Slowly, Chu Tianxiong became more and more excited as he spoke, and later he could no longer control his emotions.
"Father, if our great Chu is really poor and weak now, then I will never stand up and say ridiculous things about expanding the army. But what I see now is that the entire great Chu is singing and dancing, but
But no scholar, scholar, or minister could even say a single word for the border sergeants, "Father, you haven't been to the border for ten years. The wolf cavalry of the prairie barbarians has begun to get ready to move, and the Turkic tribes are also uneasy."
Well, if we, the Great Chu, had not made preparations earlier, when the wolf cavalry broke through the border gate, it would be the time when the lives of our great Chu rivers and mountains would be in ruins!"
There was no ripple in Chu Zheng's eyes. It seemed that the so-called urgent situation in Chu Tianxiong's mouth was not a big deal in his heart.
"Why don't I understand what you are talking about? They say that the royal family is ruthless, but who knows where the royal family's feelings lie? You don't even look at those people who earn millions of tons of food every year. According to
Seniority, even I have to call them uncle and uncle in private. Everything they take is what they deserve. No one is grateful to our royal family, but if I fall out or don't miss the old relationship, they will point out
He pointed at my nose and called me a wolf-hearted person."
"I'm not afraid of them. Even if they help my Chu family sit on this throne, so many years should be enough. If anyone dares to reach out in the future, I will chop off his hand!"
Looking at his second son who was filled with indignation, Chu Zheng smiled and shook his head.
"It's not that easy. What your elder brother said about cultivating one's health is not only to make peace with the people, but also to slowly eliminate the influence of these old ministers in the court. Only then can I, the great Chu, be able to move forward.
make."
Chu Tianxiong originally wanted to say something, but Chu Zheng no longer wanted to talk about this topic, otherwise today's conversation would turn into a political debate between the two sons.
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Although I have high hopes for both of you, only when one of you takes this position in the future can you know the hardships involved. In fact, what I mainly want to tell you today is
The way of the emperor. This thing sounds mysterious, but in fact it means that the king must be suspicious of every minister."
Chu Zheng turned to look at Chu Wushuang.
"Wushuang, you can feel more at ease as a father. I have been dealing with those ministers in the capital for these years, and you know what those ministers are like. But you have to be careful about one person. You know this person even if I don't tell you, that is Su Ruyu.
I just hope that no matter how much you trust him in the future, at least you will have the last trace of doubt about him in your heart."
Then, he looked at Chu Tianxiong again.
"Tianxiong, you have always hated civil servants. I'm not worried about this at all. But in your heart, you always think that those generals are loyal and righteous people. It's not that I don't understand your thoughts, but as an emperor, you shouldn't have any
If there is a person who deserves your complete trust, kill him as soon as possible, because only in this way can you become a good emperor!"
Chu Zheng didn't speak anymore. His eyes looked up at the sky with a bit of sourness. To be honest, he had been alone for so many years, and he also longed to have a friend who could talk to his heart, but the emperor was destined not to have one.
My friend, no one can change this.
With the country as his companion and the sun and moon as his friend, this is the pitiful life of an emperor!