The replacement of the old with the new is the unchanging principle of heaven and earth.

Nothing stays the same. A dynasty rises and falls, and comes again and again. Naturally, some people grow old and some are still young.

No one is young all the time, but there are always people who are young.

When the ancestor of the Xie family said goodbye to the Chen Dynasty for the last time, he laughed at himself and said, "I haven't felt this way before, but when I saw the resignation of the prime minister a while ago, I really felt sad."

Nowadays, the entire city of God, and even the entire Liang Dynasty, has actually highly praised the memorial written by the prime minister to resign from office, and the government and the public have named it Taihu Resignation Letter.

There is also a saying that those who do not shed tears after reading Taihu's resignation letter should not be friends with him.

Taihu is the name of the Prime Minister.

After walking out of the Xie family's ancestral house, Weng Quan quickly came up to him and asked, "Sir, where are you going? Are you going back to the Bamboo House or to your second uncle's residence?"

It's only been half an hour, and I think the people who came over there haven't left yet.

Chen Chao shook his head, got on the carriage, and said softly, "Go to Zaifu's mansion."

…

…

In early autumn, the leaves have not yet turned yellow and fallen, but an old tree in Zaifu's residence has become old and old. When the autumn wind blows, the few leaves this year begin to fall.

.

There are not many servants in Zaifu's mansion. Now there is only an old servant with a hunched body sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground.

Mr. Zaifu, who was lying on the corridor, struggled to open his somewhat cloudy eyes and spoke softly, "The locust tree was planted by my father on the day I was born. It can be said that he is the same age as me. It is said that there are usually

The tree is a hundred years old, but now it seems that it is going to die with me."

Mr. Zaifu was covered with a thick quilt, the fabric of which was a bit white. Next to him, he set up a small yellow clay stove, with an old copper kettle on it, which had long been uneven.

Full of traces of time.

Next to the stove, a young man in black robes sat upright, glanced at Master Zaifu's white hair, and said softly, "Master Zaifu finally stopped worrying about the important affairs of the country. It is the age when he can live happily and take care of himself. Don't do it."

Think this way."

"Lord Guardian, when I talk about this, I feel extremely ashamed. In fact, I had the intention of returning to seclusion a few years ago. At that time, Your Majesty was still there, and the world was relatively peaceful. Without me, I would be missing. But now

To put it bluntly, I really have never thought about going into seclusion, and it is really not the time for me to retreat, but my broken body cannot support it anymore, so I can only feel sorry for Daliang and these people.

Already."

Tears welled up in Mr. Zaifu's cloudy eyes. The old man, who started his official career early and spent almost his whole life in officialdom, sighed.

Throughout his life of serving the country and the people, Mr. Zaifu has actually wanted to stay away from officialdom more than once, return home, study and study, but every time he wanted to retreat, he was unable to do so due to various reasons.

Just like when the Emperor of Liang raised troops to attack the capital city and took the throne, countless colleagues did not want to serve the two masters and chose to resign. However, Master Zaifu thought that the world was changing and the people were uncertain. If the government was in chaos,

In the end, it was the people who suffered, so he decided to stay in the court and do something for the people. In fact, his intention was good, but he was still misunderstood by many people. Many of his friends at the time had no contact with him since then.

Later, he worked for many years. When he wanted to retire again, it happened that the Emperor went to the country and His Royal Highness was in charge of the country. He left such a big Liang Dynasty and it was really difficult for him to make a decision if he wanted to retire.

Chen Chao said warmly, "Master Zaifu has already done a lot. He can't do any better. This is enough."

Master Zaifu said softly, "But I still feel uneasy."

Chen Chao thought for a while and said, "This time when the junior returns to Beijing, His Highness will consult with the junior about the new candidate for Prime Minister, but no decision has been made yet. Does the Prime Minister have a candidate in mind?"

Master Zaifu shook his head, "I have been an official all my life, and I understand many things. A minister cannot embarrass the king, nor can he embarrass his successor. If I really recommend someone, if he goes out to do something, whatever happens

The question is, for His Highness, should I be open-minded for the sake of my kindness? And for the government and the public, should I not speak out of concern for my face? So no matter what, I shouldn't have spoken."

Chen Chao thought about it, and was about to say that His Highness the Crown Prince should not be treated like an ordinary king, but after thinking about it, he gave up. Everything in this world may change, but the rules are written in black and white over there.

.

"The juniors have already chosen someone. Master Zhang from the academy should be able to take on the big job."

Since the Prime Minister is so transparent, he won't hide it.

Master Zaifu nodded and said nothing.

As expected, Master Zhang was the best successor in the eyes of Master Zaifu.

Lord Zaifu thought for a moment, then tremblingly took out an envelope from under the quilt and handed it to Chen Chao. Chen Chao glanced at Lord Zaifu's skinny arm that had almost no flesh and blood before taking the envelope.

"Master Zhang's talents are of great use, but he is not young anymore. He can still be used by the country for ten years at most. After ten years, the position of prime minister and assistant will still be vacant. Sir, there are some things that need to be prepared for a rainy day. There are some things on the paper

There are more than ten people who have the possibility of becoming prime ministers and assistants. I also ask the guardian envoy to advise His Highness and train these people more. Maybe one of them will be able to replace Master Zhang in ten years. Even if the rest cannot become prime ministers,

The assistants are destined to be capable ministers. With them here, the people of Daliang should be able to live a good life for decades."

Master Zaifu sighed with emotion, "We scholars, there are not many things we can do. This is something that needs to be done and must be done well. As for other things, we have to trouble the guards to pay more attention to it."

"

Chen Chao nodded.

Master Zaifu looked at Chen Chao, was silent for a long time, and suddenly asked, "If one day, the demon clan is completely destroyed, and the people in the north no longer have to worry about the disaster of the demon clan, will the lives of the people be better?"

Half of the imperial court's taxes from the world were sent to the north. For many civil servants, this was something they were unwilling to accept but had to accept.

Affection.

If there hadn't been that long-standing war, then the imperial court's taxes could be reduced a lot, the national treasury would be full, and the lives of the people all over the world would be better and better.

Chen Chaoping said, "If one day there is no need to fight in the north, the people's life will naturally be much easier. I will try my best to make that day come as early as possible and try to save the people from suffering for a few years."

Master Zaifu said softly, "Even if there is no other way, please protect the northern border and prevent the monsters from going south. The people's life will be a little harder, but at least they can survive. If the monsters raise their heads in the future..."

Mr. Zaifu didn't say any more. He seemed a little unable to bear it and couldn't speak.

Chen Chao just said calmly, "That's what we have to do. Scholars including Mr. Zaifu are good at cleaning up the broken mountains and rivers, how to build another Tongtian Tower, and we must ensure that there is room for the Tongtian Tower built by the scholars."

establish."

After listening to this, Lord Zaifu just asked one sentence in the end.

Same as someone asked before.

Can you hold it?

You have to keep it even if you can't, you have to keep it.

This is Chen Chao's answer.

…

…

Finally, Chen Chao said goodbye to the old Prime Minister and walked out of the Prime Minister's mansion.

Standing on the steps, Chen Chao thought about many things.

First of all, going to the Zaifu Mansion this time to visit this leader of civil servants who worked hard and devoted half his life to Daliang was something that Chen Chao had already made up his mind about. However, when he made up his mind about it at that time, he still wanted to ask the old man for help.

Zaifu did it all for the sake of His Highness the Crown Prince and Wu Xinyue.

But in the end, I gave up after thinking about it. The old Zaifu has worked hard all his life, and now that his time is running out, it is really difficult for the old Zaifu to do anything more.

I can't bear it.

In fact, why did General Xiao Hezheng finally disband his troops and return home? Didn't Emperor Liang know that the Northern Territory needed this general? In fact, he knew that, but in the end he still nodded and agreed to the matter, for the same reason.

I have worked hard for my country all my life, but my final wish is to die in my hometown. If this "little thing" cannot satisfy me, it would be really heartbreaking.

It can't be done.

However, the ancestor of the Xie family mentioned Zaifu's resignation letter at the end, which actually had another meaning, that is, it was to remind the Chen Dynasty that you young people are in charge of Daliang today, but don't forget that these old people once did it for Daliang.

The contributions you have made should not let these old people feel cold.

It is difficult for people to get together, but separation can happen in the blink of an eye.

Chen Chao rubbed his head and walked down the steps. Weng Quan approached him and asked, "Sir, do you want to go to Zuowei Yamen?"

Chen Chao glanced at him and asked, "Why?"

Weng Quan chuckled, "Many newcomers have come to Zuowei Yamen. They all heard that it was the place where you made your fortune. They are looking forward to seeing you again when you can visit your old place and open their eyes. After all, your charm lies in everything."

They spread the word from mouth to mouth, and now all the military attachés in the imperial court admire you very much!"

Chen Chao raised his eyebrows, squinted his eyes and said with a smile, "Is it really just like this?"

Weng Quan scratched his head in embarrassment, "Xiaguan... occasionally mentions your Excellency, saying that you must be a nostalgic person. As long as you return to Beijing, you will definitely go and visit."

Chen Chao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but then he remembered something and asked with a straight face, "How many rumors did you spread about me outside during the days when I was not in Shendu?"

Weng Quan scratched his head and felt a little guilty. He didn't have the confidence to speak, "I don't think I have any..."

Chen Chao sneered, "Sure enough, your second uncle and I are not in the same family."

Weng Quan opened his mouth and retorted, "Second Uncle Xiaguan is famous for his integrity. Sir, I don't want to talk nonsense."

Chen Chao snorted coldly, ignored this guy, and got on the carriage.

Weng Quan quickly sat up, pulled up the reins, turned around and asked, "Sir, where are we going?"

"Zuowei Yamen."
To be continued...