The father and son were speechless for a long time before Ji Xie finally spoke: "I don't have much time left, and you will have Duke Zhao to assist you in running the country. There is no need to say anything. There is only one thing you need to remember."

, if this matter is not carried out, the day when our Great Zhou Dynasty will fall is not far away."

Ji Hu leaned forward seriously, raised his hands and asked, "Father, please speak clearly. The child must remember this with all his heart."

"The system of enfeoffment is the foundation of the founding of our country in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Because King Wu usurped the world of Shang Zhou with the princes in a corner of peace, he had to enfeoff the flesh and blood of Ji to guard the Central Plains and govern the people of Yin. Now several generations have passed, and the princes have their own affairs.

You have alienated intentions and are drifting away from me, the Zhou royal family. If you enfeoff again in the future, you must be cautious." After Ji Xie finished speaking, he took a breath. He also knew that this was embarrassing his son. The enfeoffment system has been in place for hundreds of years.

, how can it be abandoned in one day?

After thinking again and again, he said: "Hu'er, if nothing else, the official and salary system of the Great Zhou Dynasty must be changed. No matter what kind of resistance is encountered, this matter must be pushed forward."

How could Ji Hu not understand what his father meant? The official salary system implemented by the Zhou Dynasty was almost "suicidal". Officials' salaries were real estate--land and property--that were granted irregularly by the Zhou royal family, rather than being paid annually and monthly.

Wealth. Over the years, the Zhou royal family has been most afraid of something like a war. Once there is a war, defeat will be enough. After victory, the princes and clans who participated in the war will be rewarded, and the generals will share the land. Those who come and go, Wang Ji's

The land is getting less and less, so it is like the Zhou royal family cutting their own flesh piece by piece and giving it to these people to eat. The princes and clan leaders are getting fatter and fatter, while the Zhou royal family is getting thinner and thinner.

But it was impossible not to fight. The barbarians were surrounded by barbarians, especially the wolves in the northwest. They would invade in large numbers almost every three to five years. The Zhou family had to fight back, and sometimes they even had to take the initiative. Every time there was a war,

The Zhou royal family had to ennoble its meritorious ministers, and the land available for awards became less and less, the area became smaller and smaller, and the plots of land became more and more fragmented, and even more than ten acres, five or six acres of land were granted. If this continues,

Sooner or later, the little "flesh" left on his body will be cut off. How could Ji Hu not understand this situation, which he had overseen several times? He met his father's expectant gaze and nodded resolutely: "Yes,

I must reform the official and salary system, starting from here, to make our Great Zhou look completely new."

"Okay, okay." After Ji Xie said this for a while, he seemed to have exhausted all his energy and breathed heavily: "You should go back to the East Palace to rest, I am tired."

As soon as the prince left the main hall, the chamberlain Jia quietly entered the bedroom to serve the king of Zhou to his bed. Ji Xie glanced at him and beckoned: "Come closer."

"promise."

"I have something to entrust to you." As soon as he finished speaking, the chamberlain Jia was shocked. He had never entrusted something to the eunuchs before the death of King Zhou. He couldn't help but look shocked: "Why don't your Majesty entrust it to Duke Zhao?"

Sir, how can a villain shoulder the responsibility of state affairs?"

Ji Xie waved his hand feebly: "Zhao Zimu is a gentleman, and he will definitely not bother to carry out this secret matter of the palace. Only by entrusting it to you can this matter be done."

Jia, the chamberlain, then felt relieved and said firmly: "Please tell me, Your Majesty, it doesn't matter. I'll live up to your Majesty's trust."

"I was not willing to make E as my queen, but the situation forced me to do so out of helplessness. I could have given her death at this time, but she has the name of a queen, and neither I nor I wanted to be with her underground.

. I have to leave Hu Er with such a hidden danger and constraint------" He trembled and took out a piece of silk book from under the pillow and handed it to the chamberlain Jia: "This is an edict, please keep it. After Ruogu's death,

, the E family is making things difficult for the prince and causing harm to the Zhou family, so you try to get rid of her. If the matter is exposed, you can take out this edict to protect your life."

The chamberlain Jia accepted the order with tears on his face, kowtowed and said: "I will definitely die without regrets if I don't fulfill the great king's trust."

King Zhou Yi had spoken a lot today, and he was exhausted, but he still managed to hold himself up and said: "I have asked the prince to keep you by his side and not to bury you in the grave. The prince - he also

I agreed, and I will summon the public as proof, so you can rest assured."

"Your Majesty is so considerate of the little ones. It's really hard for the little ones to repay their loss." At this time, the chamberlain Jia was really filled with gratitude and burst into tears.

"It's time to unload the burden of being alone, so that ----- you can easily go to find Ah Ji -" Ji Xie's eyes silently shed two tears, which wet the brocade pillow.

A pair of mandarin duck eyes------

"Sister, you have been in the palace for almost half a year. How has His Royal Highness treated you?" In the small flower hall of the East Palace, two sisters named Ji who had not seen each other for several months were sitting and chatting. As usual, it was the elder sister Meng Ji who was more enthusiastic:

"Don't forget what my father said when he was leaving. Now that the country is weak, it is inevitable to see the decline of my surname. The queen has tried her best to let the three of us sisters marry into Haojing one after another. From now on, the honor and disgrace of our surname will depend on it.

All in one."

Shao Ji lowered his eyelids, wringing the handkerchief in his hand and replied shyly: "My sister is not as high-minded as my elder sister. As long as I can serve His Highness the Crown Prince for the rest of my life, that's enough. I can't care about other things, and I don't want to care about them."

.”

"You!" Meng Ji poked her forehead with hatred: "Are you stupid? Although the prince is engaged to Shen Jiang, the wedding will have to wait until at least the first year of his life. This will take six or seven years.

, you have to make good use of it and let the prince only have you in his heart. What a rare opportunity. For such a long time, the prince has been yours alone. Even I envy you!"

Shaoji looked puzzled: "Envy me? Could it be that sister, you want Duke Zhao Guo to belong to only sister?"

"You?" Meng Ji blushed and turned away angrily: "I won't tell you anymore, huh!"

The night in Xuanning Palace is particularly long and lonely.

The dim palace lantern reflected E Shi's pale face. Under the light, this face looked a bit illusory and unreal. The palace maid and uncle slowly approached holding a coat: "My queen, it's late at night, it's better to go to bed early."

Go to bed."

She lowered her head and waited for a long time before she heard a long sigh: "It's hard for you. My Xuanning palace is no different from the cold palace. Everyone else is just doing errands, but you are the only one who is sincere. I remember your benefits.

"

"Your Majesty," my uncle said, "don't say that. No matter what, you are also the queen of Zhou Dynasty!"

"Queen? Humph------" E-shang sneered and pointed at the dark palace: "Look, how can I look like a royal empress here? The king is not even willing to complain to the temple. He obviously means it from his heart.

If you don’t want me to be your queen, who in this palace doesn’t know it? Who would really regard me as the queen?”

Shuju knew that the situation was indeed the case, and saw that her master was really angry, so she had no choice but to kneel down and say nothing. E-sun turned away, her words full of desolation: "Do you know? Since the king has been seriously ill, I have been unable to sleep at night.

I feel sleepy and my food doesn’t taste good, what’s the reason?”

"Of course I'm worried about the king's condition." Shuju replied without hesitation. But E Shi only laughed sarcastically: "Worried about him? Since Wang Ji's death, we have long since severed ties with each other. I'm worried about myself and him.

He has given death to Yiji and Ji Jiang, which one has he not favored, let alone me who has long since fallen out of favor?"

"Mother," Shuju understood this time, and her body began to tremble: "Are you afraid that the king will-----" No, if the master is given death, he will also be buried. She is serious this time

Afraid? "No way, no matter what, you are also the queen who was granted the title of queen!" How can a queen be buried as a sacrifice?

Thinking of Yi Ji's horrible look when he drank the poisonous wine, E Shi's heart trembled: "I hope that as you said, the king will take care of the face of the Zhou royal family and the strength of the E country, and open his eyes!"

After saying this, the master and the servant no longer wanted to go to bed, and they sat facing each other and wept. Suddenly, there was a noise outside the palace, as if there were many footsteps of maids walking around. The uncle shouted loudly

: "What happened outside?"

A chamberlain replied in a high-pitched voice: "Your Majesty, the news came from the main hall just now that the king has passed away!"

"What?" E-sun's heart was in her throat, and she grabbed her uncle's hand: "What should I do? Go outside the palace gate and have a look. If ------ if the chamberlain Jia comes to deliver the edict, he must be

If you want to kill me, go quickly!"

"Okay, my maid will come over right away. Don't panic, Madam!"

Outside the main hall of the Haojing Palace, the chamberlain Jia stood in tears and kept shouting in a long voice: "The king has collapsed——, the king has collapsed——". The palace people knelt in large numbers, and the sound of crying pierced the calm night sky.

People put on plain mourning clothes, white lanterns were raised in every palace, the clouds struck loudly, and the tranquility of Haojing City was broken by the sudden bad news.

The courtiers heard the sound of the cloud board, and the princes and clan heads named Ji who had just participated in the blessing ceremony were dressed in clothes and hats and hurriedly drove to the palace. The common people who got up early were worried, how long will it take for the market to reopen? Taverns and teahouses

The bosses are preparing to close down business. The period of national mourning is not short. I am afraid that during these days, I will have to find another way to make a living.

Only E-shang was filled with joy, but Jia, the chamberlain, did not come, and she escaped. From now on, she will be the Queen Mother of Zhou Dynasty, and no one will suppress her or take care of her. How happy she is!

I held my stomach and laughed for half an hour in the dormitory. Then I changed into silk clothes and pretended to look like a widowed woman grieving for others to see. In fact, only ghosts are sad!

According to the etiquette system, the King of Zhou, as the co-owner of the world and the esteemed emperor, had to stay in mourning for at least three months. Only when all the princes of the world arrived in Haojing could a formal funeral be held to show his dignity.

On the second day after the death of King Zhou Yi, the eight gates of Haojing were opened, and dozens of fast horses rushed in all directions carrying the obituary notice stamped with the king's seal. Once the princes from all sides received the obituary notice, they must come in person to attend the national funeral ceremony. They could not

If you come, you must at least send the crown prince or important ministers to confess to the new king------
Chapter completed!