Chapter 414 The capital is Mr. Zhao’s territory (please vote for the new month)
The flames licked the paper on which the information was written, quickly carbonizing it.
Sun Lianying was wearing a loose cotton robe, stretched out her hand over the fire pot to heat it, and said calmly:
"Although Cao Mao has been away from the capital all year round, he is still a nobleman with military power, and his status is very important. After noticing the trend of public opinion, he will inevitably take action to block and suppress him. Have you thought about how to deal with it?"< br>
Zhao Duan spoke in a calm tone and did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned to look at the Lihuatang Jinyi who came to report the news and asked:
"Have all the arrangements for you to say hello been completed?"
The man in Jinyi cupped his hands and said:
"It's been done a long time ago. Don't worry, sir. The capital is not Jubei City. This is our territory. Since you have spoken, we would like to see if there is any short-sighted person in the whole capital who dares to do things for Cao Guogong?"
Zhao Duan waved his hand with satisfaction, asking the latter to leave, and then turned to look at the old leader with a smile:
"Is this appropriate?"
"You." The old eunuch seemed to shake his head helplessly, and gently dropped the chess piece, with a look of relief on his face.
A year ago, who would have thought that Zhao Duan would have the energy he has today?
……
……
Kyoto government office.
On this day, Lord Fuyin learned that the deputy general of Jubeicheng, Cao Kedi, was visiting, and he immediately welcomed him into the back hall to entertain him politely.
After a moment of greetings, Cao Kedi revealed his intention:
"Today someone in the city has fabricated rumors, spread them in the market, and criticized the laws of the imperial court. The Duke was very angry when he learned about it, so he urged me to come and ask Mr. Fu Yin to stop the rumors, prevent them from spreading, and find out who is so bold. .”
"Is this happening?" The governor of the capital was shocked and slapped the case angrily:
"How can the emperor allow Duke Cao to be slandered under the emperor's feet? Please tell the Duke that I will order the government office and several county offices in the capital to deal with it."
Cao Kedi smiled and said: "Thank you, Mr. Fu Yin."
"Haha, it's just a matter of duty." The Yin of the capital city smiled and personally sent Cao Kedi out of the government office.
After the people left, the smile on his face faded, and he turned around and dragged his somewhat plump body against the cold wind back to the warm back hall.
The head of the government office came over cautiously and asked for instructions: "Sir, should I do it now?"
Fu Yin glanced at him and said in a cold tone: "What should I do?"
The catcher was stunned for a moment and said: "Entrusted by Duke Cao..."
Fu Yin snorted, waved his hand irritably, and said:
"Let's hold it off for now, wait until tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, find a few scoundrels to take over, and it will be enough to give an explanation to the Duke's office."
He didn't want to offend Cao Mao. If it was for other matters, it would be just a favor. However, King Zhao Yan had sent someone to say hello before.
"How many days can a commander at the border in the north stay in the capital throughout the year? A simple thank you would make me offend the man named Zhao, but Cao Mao could not figure it out."
Fu Yin cursed in his heart, and at the same time secretly thought about this matter, he could vaguely sense an undercurrent surging, and it felt like the show was about to begin.
"You can't get involved in this matter. If you don't see the situation clearly and interfere indiscriminately, you may get burned."
……
Zhaoyamen, Peony Hall.
"Cao Guogong wants to appoint us to help him investigate the source of the rumors? Block them?"
Zhang Han, with a paralyzed face, looked at the Northland officer in front of him with strange eyes.
The officer nodded and said seriously:
"Zhang Jisi is the number one in Jiu Tang. In terms of the ability to investigate cases and handle affairs in the capital, Peony Hall is second to none. As long as this matter is successfully handled, the Crown Prince will never forget Zhang Jisi's hard work."
Zhang Han looked at the man expressionlessly for a moment, shook his head and said: "The imperial edict is to do something for your majesty. This matter does not involve rebellion against the party, nor is it ordered by the governor, so I cannot interfere."
"This..." The Jubeicheng officer was stunned. He didn't seem to expect that the other party was so disrespectful and refused to say anything about the situation, even if he was a little more tactful...
He lowered his face: "Dong Cao Guo is..."
Zhang Han interrupted this person and served tea to see the guests off: "I have something to do, so I won't send you far away."
The Northland officer opened his mouth, took a deep breath, stood up and left the table angrily.
After they left, Haitang walked in with her arms folded outside the door, looking like she was eating melons and watching a show, and said with interest:
"This Duke is quite interesting. Is he used to being domineering and domineering at the border and holding the power alone, or is he too old and confused? He is now giving orders to you."
Zhang Han shook his head and said calmly:
"They didn't go to Zhao Duan, but came to me, which shows that they are not too stupid. Maybe they heard that the nine halls were fighting with each other and thought that I would be happy to gain access to Cao Guogong's connections."
Haitang, who heard the excitement and came over to eat the melon, was amazed and said:
"Although I don't know what happened, based on my understanding of Zhao Duan, this Duke is going to be in trouble."
……
Red Flower Club Headquarters.
The "White Paper Fan", the largest gang in the capital, came out in person to welcome the arrival of the housekeeper of Cao Guogong's mansion.
The so-called White Paper Fan is not a name, but a title. Its status is similar to the role of a gang's "strategist". Within the Red Flower Society, its status is only below the leader.
"Oh, what a coincidence, the gang leader is not at home right now. I wonder if you have anything to tell me? May I convey it to you?" The tall and thin white paper fan said politely.
The seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, the chief steward of the Duke's mansion, is already a big shot in this group of societies.
"You, the Honghua Society, know the market well. You should have heard the rumors against the Duke. I will give you a day and I want to know where the rumors started."
The chief steward finished his instructions with a haughty look, stood up and left.
The white paper fan sent the person away with a smile on his face, watched him leave, and spat lightly.
He turned around and ordered a few gang thugs to guard outside. He returned to the house, walked to the door of a room in the back house, and pushed it open with both hands.
Looking at the bald middle-aged man pacing in the room.
"Gang Leader, I sent you off just as expected. We need to finish it within one day."
The leader of the Red Flower Club looked sinister and sneered:
"Everyone would say that we look like a beautiful person, but in fact we are nothing more than a big shot's chamber pot. I only picked it up when I thought about it..."
The white paper fan hesitated and said: "Then let's..."
The leader of the Red Flower Club said with a straight face: "Do you still need me to tell you how to deal with it?"
"Yes. Where is the news spreading..."
"Send more manpower to make things bigger. If King Zhao Yan is not satisfied, neither you nor I can survive until next year. Think of Master Meng!"
Mr. Meng was the previous leader of the Honghua Society. He had sinned against Zhao Duan and died tragically in prison.
In a sense, Zhao Duan's deterrent effect on underground gangs was much stronger than that of the emperor in the palace.
……
At the same time, similar scenes occurred in every corner of the capital.
A Duke's personal network could extend to all the yamen in the capital. However, compared to Cao Mao's orders, no official dared to disobey Zhao Duan's "greeting".
Even the "Li Party" who was the enemy of Zhao Duan maintained a high-minded attitude on this matter.
"It seems that this Zhao Duan is more capable than my father expected."
Somewhere in the capital, in a carriage, Tang Guogong looked out the window at the two groups of people who were almost entering a certain yamen, belonging to Zhao Duan and Cao Mao, and sighed softly.
In the carriage, Tang Zhao looked depressed.
What she is good at is fighting, and she really doesn't understand this kind of intrigue.
Even now, she doesn't know what Zhao Duan and his father talked about in the study last night.
"Okay, let's go." Tang Guogong glanced at his foolhardy daughter and shook his head helplessly, "Don't be late."
Today, Duke Tang Guogong sent greeting cards to the higher-ranking royal family members in the city and will pay them a visit.
This is not unexpected for a general who returned to Beijing from guarding the border.
But only a few people knew that the purpose of Tang Guogong's trip was to remove Cao Mao's arm in this killing situation.
According to what Zhao Duan said last night: "This is part of the plan."
……
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
In the streets and alleys of the capital, the news about Cao Mao not only did not decrease, but intensified.
It is extremely risky to criticize a prince, but if there are too many people talking about it, it will make people emboldened.
In particular, a case involving Duke Cao was reported in Dali Temple, which gave even people in the official circles an excuse to talk about it publicly.
Since the censor Chen Hong was refused entry to the palace that day, in the past two days, more than a dozen censors have entered the palace to impeach, and the momentum has become more and more intense.
Duke Cao's Mansion.
"Why are the rumors still spreading?! Two days! Two whole days! The rumors outside are getting bigger and louder. I can hear them at home. How do you do things?! Huh? Are you all mute? Say! ”
Cao Mao, with his hair and beard growing wild, roared angrily at several subordinates standing side by side in the room, venting his anger.
The atmosphere in the room was tense and frozen, and everyone was silent. Cao Kedi stood with his hands down and said in shame:
"Father, it's not that we don't work hard, it's actually those people in the city who appear to be hypocritical, but in fact they don't work hard and deal with us perfunctorily. After all, the capital is not Beidi, we..."
The other people also complained endlessly.
After Cao Mao finished venting, he leaned back and threw himself heavily into the Taishi chair, holding his forehead with his hand:
"That's all, that's all. As the old saying goes, a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. After all, I have been away from the capital for too long, but unexpectedly, a biting snake grew up in just one year."
Cao Kedi was surprised and said: "Father, you mean..."
"Zhao Duan," Cao Mao gritted his teeth and spit out the name:
"I was wondering before, why did this person want to conflict with you in the Ministry of Punishment, just because the Northland Blood Sword had been his guard for a period of time? It's simply ridiculous. Now it seems that he is here for me."
Cao Kedi frowned and said: "My foster father is saying that those yamen refused to use force because Zhao Duan said hello?"
Cao Mao wanted to say something, but suddenly drove the other people out of the house. When only two people were left in the house, he said with a gloomy face:
"I have never had any contact with that Zhao Duan. How could he oppose us over such a trivial matter for no reason? I'm afraid this person is just a jobber."
Cao Kedi tried and said:
"Is that Tang Da? This person has always been at odds with his adoptive father..."
Cao Mao shook his head and said with a faint look in his eyes:
"It's Your Majesty. The spread of information among the people can be said to be the work of my political enemies, but the case in Dali Temple came too unexpectedly. The most important thing is the group of officials from the Metropolitan Procuratorate... Haha, I'm afraid it's His Majesty who is dissatisfied with us. , I need to beat and beat.”
Cao Kedi looked anxious:
"Father, if it is really your Majesty who did it, what should we do..."
Cao Mao glanced at him dissatisfied and said displeased:
"Why are you in chaos? Inside me, there are many allied nobles, and outside, there are hundreds of thousands of border troops in Beicheng. Our Majesty has only been on the throne for a few years? It's just a beating."
Although the momentum was great now, Cao Mao was only angry, not panicked.
Because in his opinion, the empress definitely did not have the confidence to flip the table and do something serious to him.
At this time, suddenly the butler's voice came from outside the room: "My lord, someone from the palace is coming to your door!"
The father and son looked at each other, and both could see the meaning in each other's eyes: Here we come!
A few moments.
A eunuch holding a fly whisk came to the door with a smile. After paying homage, he said:
"In recent days, the public opinion in the city has been fierce, and rumors related to the Duke are spreading. Your Majesty does not believe it, but it is just that the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate has repeatedly impeached, so it is difficult to ignore it.
Therefore, Your Majesty hopes that the Duke will go to court tomorrow morning to explain things in person, so that the dispute can be settled. ”
Cao Mao was not surprised, even a little proud of his guess, and said casually:
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I will go to court tomorrow."
According to his expectation, it was nothing more than a confrontation with the officials in court. As long as he expressed a little respect for the empress to make the empress look good, and gave the empress a slap in the face without any pain, the matter would be over.
"How dare a woman have the courage to become emperor? It's just like fighting in the harem and putting it in the court."
Cao Mao activated the spiritual victory method, but he felt uneasy for no reason
——Your Majesty, is this really all he has to do?
However, thinking of the northern frontier troops who were firmly in his hands, his heart stabilized again.
……
……
That night, a cold wave swept through the capital and the temperature plummeted.
After the mission from the Western Regions left Beijing, the sky that had been clear for a while was once again obscured by dark clouds, and in the second half of the night, snow began to slowly fall.
early morning.
When Zhao Duan opened the door, what he saw was snowflakes flying like confetti under the pale sky.
In the courtyard, the servants were already sweeping with brooms.
Zhao Pan unexpectedly got up, but judging from his shivering look, he must have woken up from the cold.
She and her Pekingese dog would be squatting next to the stove to warm their hands (paws).
Her bright eyes like autumn water were still looking out longingly. When she saw Zhao Duan coming, the girl said happily:
"Brother, the snow is so heavy this time. I should be able to build a snowman in the afternoon."
Well, this little girl is already thinking about building a snowman... Well, although the last round of snowfall has been sparse for a long time, it is not thick.
However, Zhao Duan remembered the Internet masters he saw in his previous life. They made snowmen into various cool shapes one by one, such as carving them into a dragon or something. It was so cool...
"Hurry up and close the door. Aren't you afraid of getting sick?"
Eugene Hua disappointedly led several maids and walked in from outside carrying dinner plates.
Goose feather snowflakes fall on the beautiful woman's bunted hair, and the contrast between black and white is sharp.
"Oh." The girl closed the door in disappointment, and the temperature in the room slowly rose. Zhao Duan shook his head and smiled, chatting with his family at the dinner table.
Eugene Hua excitedly reported to him how many new year's goods the family had purchased.
"It's almost the end of the New Year. I wonder what the lantern show will be like on New Year's Eve this year." The beautiful stepmother said with longing in her eyes.
In the Yu Dynasty, New Year's Eve was a major festival, and people would attend lantern festivals despite the cold wind.
Of course, it won’t be cold on New Year’s Eve. Even if the weather is bad, the great priests of Tianshi Mansion will work together to change the celestial phenomena
——This is also the rare time when the priests will intervene in the weather except for major natural disasters.
It is a pity that the influence of the Xuanmen coup in the past two years caused the atmosphere in the capital to be solemn and ups and downs. The flavor of the New Year was greatly reduced, and the New Year's Eve Lantern Festival existed in name only.
This year, the empress's regime gradually stabilized, and there were signs of recovery.
Zhao Duan was a little distracted.
After meal.
He put on his official uniform, picked up the Frost Sword and left the yamen. The coachman Xiao Wang was already waiting outside.
"Brother seems to be very preoccupied today, and he went to the Yamen very early." Zhao Pan murmured curiously, holding the Pekingese dog in his arms.
Eugene Flower was wrapped in thick fur, covering her plump figure, and said:
"Men always have big things to do. It is enough for women to take care of their families."
Zhao Pan twitched his lips, understanding but not accepting his mother's feudal speech.
……
The morning court time in winter was postponed a lot. When Zhao Duan went out, it was not yet time for the court.
But he estimated that the courtiers had already rushed to the Meridian Gate one after another.
He is not going to go to the Jinluan Palace today because he has more important things to do, or in other words, in his plan with Yuan Li, the impeachment in the Jinluan Palace is the first half.
Yuan Li is in charge.
What Zhao Duan has to take care of is the second half.
"Sir, are you waiting here?"
Xiao Wang stopped the carriage at an intersection and asked.
Zhao Duan opened the car curtain and nodded, without letting go of the curtain, and just looked at the falling snow outside.
At this time, the entire street was covered with a layer of white, and there were far fewer pedestrians on the street than before.
Yesterday, the Qintian Prison posted a notice saying that there was a heavy snowstorm today, but it was in the afternoon and it was not very heavy at the moment.
How can I put it, in a world with gods and magic, weather forecasts are indeed more accurate than in previous lives...
"Drive!"
Suddenly, a carriage came from the street across from the intersection. It stopped as it passed the intersection. The curtains of the carriage were raised, revealing the faces of siblings Tang Ping and Tang Zhao.
"Master Zhao!" Tang Ping jumped out of the carriage and walked outside the carriage. He cupped his hands in a gesture of courtesy for a subordinate to meet his superior.
Tang Zhao was reluctant and walked over, just nodded.
Zhao Duan didn't get out of the car, smiled through the window and said:
"How are the preparations going?"
The young father-in-law Tang Ping patted his chest hard to indicate that the thing was inside. There seemed to be beating flames in his eyes, which was the excitement and excitement of participating in a big event:
"It has been settled for a long time. My father also asked me to tell you that the agreement has been reached with your honor."
Zhao Duan nodded and smiled:
"Thank you for your hard work. It's time to go to court. Go into the palace quickly and don't miss the time."
Rouge Ma Tang Zhao blinked. She did not bring her horse with her today. She was wearing a thick red cloak. She said curiously:
"Aren't you going together?"
Zhao Duan waved his hand and said with a smile: "I'll be waiting for you outside."
Weird... Tang Zhao, who had wheat-colored skin, murmured, turned around, got in the car with his younger brother, and headed straight to the palace.
Zhao Duan watched his siblings go away, lowered the curtains, leaned against the soft car cushion, closed his eyes, and said calmly:
"Let's go, let's go to the next stop."
……
Typos should be corrected first
(End of chapter)