Chapter 417: Your Majesty, the ministers have lived up to their trust. Cao Mao, Duke of Anguo, wrote a letter to resign and is willing to hand over military power
In the imperial study room.
"Squeak." After finishing his lunch, Xu Zhenguan walked back to the place where he handled government affairs, stood by the window, and pushed open a window with his slender white hands.
Woo——
The cold wind blew on the empress's face, slightly ruffling her hair. Xu Zhenguan's eyelashes trembled and her eyes narrowed. The clear, baby-like pupils reflected the heavy snow falling outside the window, like willow catkins.
Somewhat distracted.
She still remembered that the day of the Xuanmen coup was also a snowy day in the middle of winter.
At that time, the shouts of killing filled every corner of the imperial city, and the flashes of swords and swords passed by, and a plume of scarlet blood splashed on the spacious square of the Meridian Gate.
A layer of blood was sprinkled, and the white snow in the sky was covered with a layer. Repeated several times, the blood and snow merged together, almost making the sky red.
Now it is about to enter its third year. The visible sword light has disappeared, but the invisible sword light has never stopped.
"Huh..."
The cold wind picked up a snowflake and swirled it into the window. The empress caught it in the palm of her raised right hand and melted it into a drop of water in her breath.
Xu Zhenguan pursed her lips, and a little sleepiness dissipated. She turned around without closing the window, walked to the desk, and sat down upright.
Holding a pen in one hand, she picked out a pile on the table from the top of the pile of memorials sent from the Xiuwen Museum that she needed to read in person.
Unfolding it, the Empress raised her eyebrows.
This is a memorial sent by the Southern Water Transport Governor, requesting the court to appoint new local officials as soon as possible to fill the vacancies.
With the implementation of the "New Deal", in the past few months, the purge of the originally redundant officialdom has also been carried out with great vigor.
The method for evaluating the administration of officials proposed by Zhao Duan had been initially drafted and implemented on Jiancheng Road. As expected, a group of officials were dismissed.
Once a group of people fell, new manpower was urgently needed to fill them. This was originally the responsibility of Li Yanfu, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but now through the "new cabinet", it has been regained by the empress.
"A new generation replaces the old."
The empress was in a daze, but her thoughts had already drifted outside the palace, worrying about Duke Cao Guo's final decision.
She went to great lengths to set up such a situation, in order to regain the military power of Jubeicheng at the minimum cost.
If Cao Mao refuses to cooperate and fights with her, even if he can get the military power back in the end, he will have to pay a lot of price.
I was distracted for I don’t know how long.
"Your Majesty," the female officer's voice came from outside the door, "Master Zhao, please see me."
As if awakened from a dream, Xu Zhenguan stood up suddenly and said eagerly:
"Please come in!"
"Yes." The female officer responded and left.
However, Xu Zhenguan could no longer sit still and walked out quickly, her black hair fluttering behind her. She waited for her to lean on the door and look into the distance through the flying snow.
After a while, a tall figure holding an oil-paper umbrella and wearing a red cloak walked up.
The snow covered the umbrella, falling on the cloak, and a little bit on the black hair crown on Zhao Duan's head.
He walked through the courtyard, leaving a series of footprints behind him. The female officials and eunuchs nearby moved away sensibly.
"How about Zhao Qing...?"
Xu Zhenguan stared at him solemnly, with a trace of unresolved uneasiness in his bright black eyes.
Zhao Duan stepped into the corridor, closed the oil-paper umbrella with both hands, pointed the umbrella tip down, and when he turned the handle, the snow fell.
Immediately he looked at the empress, the corners of his mouth slowly raised on his expressionless face, and he presented the fold in his sleeves with both hands:
"Your Majesty, I have lived up to my trust. Cao Mao, Duke of Anguo, has written to resign and is willing to hand over military power. The northern frontier army has become your Majesty's bag."
The dust has settled!
Done!
As Zhao Duan uttered these words, the big stone hanging in Xu Zhenguan's heart suddenly fell to the ground.
She was in a trance for a moment, and then the corners of her mouth raised, as if she wanted to laugh, but due to Zhao Duan's presence, she held it in. The various subtle expressions were extremely exciting.
Zhao Duan blinked and said seriously: "It hurts me to hold it in, why don't I give His Majesty a smile first?"
"Pfft!"
Without any warning, Xu Zhenguan finally broke through his guard by giving him a tease, unable to maintain the emperor's dignified posture, and showed an undisguised, happy smile.
No one knew how much pressure she had accumulated in her heart in the past few days, involving the border troops in one place, and the struggle with the court was different.
At this moment, knowing that the important matter had been accomplished, the empress felt her shoulders relax, giving birth to an indescribable sense of relief.
Zhao Duan looked amused, blinked and teased:
"Is Your Majesty just standing at the door talking to me like this?"
The empress woke up from her joy, gave him a charming look, snatched the resignation letter, turned around and walked into the study.
She looked through it happily - she looked like a girl who had received a New Year's gift.
……
When Zhao Duan also entered the room, took off his cloak, and the emperor and his ministers sat down, the empress naturally asked about the details.
Zhao Duan then told the whole story, not forgetting to take credit from the others:
"This victory can be established in one fell swoop. In addition to His Majesty's wise leadership, Mr. Yuan is in control of the overall situation, and Mr. Tang Guogong also contributed a lot."
Xu Zhenguan couldn't hide his curiosity and said:
"Previously, Mr. Yuan revealed to me that he invited you to participate in this matter. He didn't go into details. Now let's talk about it. How did you get Mr. Tang to help you?"
The empress was surprised because Tang Guogong's appearance was not in her plan.
In her original plan, the Xungui Group in the capital was likely to help Cao Mao, repeatedly entangled in the "Lang Shiba" case, and inevitably played many games.
But after Zhao Duan joined, the joint that originally caused her some headaches was solved.
"To be precise, it's not that I invited Duke Tang Guo, but that Duke Tang Guo hinted that I could come to him from the very beginning." Zhao Duan said seriously.
Speaking of the process of seizing military power this time, he also felt that it was surprisingly smooth when reviewing it.
That day, he was stopped by Yuan Li on his way home and read a piece of "top secret information" given to him by Yuan Li in the carriage.
The core content is the information about the group of spies that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince planted in Jubei City.
After reading it, Zhao Duan suddenly realized that Zhenbao had already sharpened his sword. When the empress followed the trend and allowed Cao Mao to throw Lang Shiba into prison, she had already started planning to use this case to seize power.
After learning about the existence of the great spy "Luo Kedi", Zhao Duan immediately thought of many things.
For example, Tang Guogong took action in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
At that time, he thought that the other party was returning favors to him because of Tang Zhao's incident, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt that something was wrong.
There are many ways to repay a favor, and slapping Cao Mao directly in the face for him is undoubtedly a step too far.
Even if there is a contradiction between the two, it is somewhat abrupt.
After realizing this, Zhao Duan carefully recalled that many generals returned to Beijing during the new year.
Tang Guogong was the only one who had no reservations. Not only was his only son always kept in the Shenji camp and would not be transferred away, he would go back to Beijing and specially bring his daughter back.
Even if you don't give him face at first, it's only for him, not the court.
"It was then that I suddenly realized that in terms of Tang Guogong's position, he went to the Ministry of Punishment to support me. It seemed to be returning the favor, but in fact he was making a statement."
Zhao Duan sighed:
"Zhao Shixiong's failure to return must have made Duke Tang feel that it was necessary to further express his loyalty to the court. Especially when I learned that the two Dukes had a feud, I simply went along with the situation and came to Duke Tang to express my desire to impeach Cao Mao.
Tang Guogong agreed very happily, and almost took the initiative to persuade the nobles...
However, it would be more appropriate for a powerful duke from the late emperor's time to come forward in person than the minister, or even his majesty... When Chen Guogong agreed to come forward, he was also aware of the current situation in the Yu Kingdom and did not want to see another dispute. ”
After Zhao Duan said this, he felt the same emotion in his heart.
It can be said that seizing power over Cao Mao was the smoothest time he had ever brought down powerful officials, but if you think about it carefully, it is not surprising.
Because in this power grab, Cao Mao was almost completely at a disadvantage.
If he hadn't returned to Beijing, it might have been extremely difficult, but from the moment he returned to Beijing, he was like an insect stepping into a spider's web.
The empress, Tang Guogong, Chen Guogong, Yuan Li, Luo Kedi... blocked and strangled them from all directions.
Zhao Duan's biggest role in this, besides instigating public opinion, was to connect all parties and unite all forces to launch a thunderous attack.
In such a battle, with such a disparity in strength, it was surprising that Cao Mao was defeated unhappily.
From another perspective, Zhao Duan a year ago was still a little man who could only use fake power to gather his forces and defeat powerful enemies with difficulty.
But today, he has actually held great power and united vertically and horizontally. Could it be that it was so smooth this time because his status was different from before?
"Tang Guogong is interested," Xu Zhenguan was deeply moved after hearing this, and said mockingly:
"If those generals are like Tang Guogong, why should I worry about the country being unstable?"
Zhao Duan hesitated and tentatively said:
"Then Zhao Shixiong...how are you going to deal with it?"
Mentioning this name, Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes were filled with tears, but she still took a deep breath and said slowly:
“The best thing is comfort.”
Zhao Duan nodded, not surprised.
This is the best way. If Zhao Shixiong doesn't come back, it will be difficult to check and balance. Especially after the news of Cao Mao's disarmament spread, Zhao Shixiong didn't dare to come back.
"King Mu has repeatedly tried to win over Zhao Shixiong, but now I'm afraid it's finally working."
Xu Zhenguan sighed: "Yu Guo has been seriously ill for a long time, so it is not advisable to act too hastily. At least now that the risk of rejecting Beicheng has been resolved, King Yanshan in the north will hardly become a hidden danger."
Zhao Duan thought for a while and said:
"Tang Guogong revealed to me that the reason why he heard the rumors about the minister and the young prince this time was from King Hejian of Xiping Road. Cao Mao learned about Lang Shiba's identity. Although he has not yet interrogated him, he must have also contacted Prince Jing. , or related to King Yanshan. These people are really masters of sowing discord.”
Xu Zhenguan said contemptuously: "Sowing dissension is ultimately a tactic that cannot be seen on the surface."
Zhao Duan nodded and said with a smile:
"However, thanks to their instigation, Tang Guogong was further moved towards the court, and Cao Mao defected in advance.
After this incident, the King of Hejian on the Xiping Road was suppressed by Tang Guogong, and the King of Yanshan on the Tieguan Road was checked by Luo Ke. In this way, two of the eight kings were broken.
Counting the already shaken King Huai'an and the weakest King Qiong in Lingnan, there are only four left. ”
Xu Zhenguan glanced at him funny:
"You can comfort people. None of the eunuchs around me can speak like you."
Zhao Duan was horrified and waved his hands to sternly refuse:
"I still need to stay useful and work for Your Majesty, but I dare not compare with my father-in-law."
Xu Zhenguan spat: "Shameless."
Zhao Duan was surprised:
Zhenbao actually understood? Amazing, my majesty...
The monarch and his ministers joked for a while, and Zhao Duan stood up to say goodbye:
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now." This time it was Xu Zhenguan's turn to be stunned. She stared at him in disbelief and said to herself, "You shouldn't be shameless and stay in the palace overnight on the grounds that the wind and snow are too heavy." ?
No matter how hard it is, you still have to have a meal. How can you leave neatly this time?
Transitioned?
Zhao Duan seemed to see her thoughts and said with a serious expression:
"Does your Majesty think that I am really that frivolous person?"
After saying that, seeing the empress stunned and speechless, Zhao Duan cupped his hands, put on his cloak gracefully, picked up the oil-paper umbrella placed on the door panel, stepped into the wind and snow, and left straight away.
After walking out of the palace in one breath, Zhao Duan raised the corners of his mouth slightly:
"Zhenbao, Zhenbao, let me show you some tricks..."
If you keep licking your dog, it will only be taken for granted. Proper sexual transformation will have a miraculous effect.
……
In the bedroom.
Xu Zhenguan stood quietly at the door, looking at the direction Zhao Duan left, lost in thought.
The female officers nearby took cautious glances and exchanged glances:
Your Majesty, what's going on? Aren't you quite happy just now...
Also, Mr. Zhao left so quickly this time. Didn’t he stay overnight?
Suddenly, the female officials who couldn't restrain their gossips were stared at by a line of sight. They shrank their necks, bowed their heads and saluted Mo Zhaorong, who was walking from a distance.
Don't dare to think too much.
"First Female Officer" Mochou walked up to the empress and asked softly: "Your Majesty?"
Only then did Xu Zhenguan come back to her senses. She glanced at her confidant maid, and suddenly asked out of nowhere:
"Master Zhao has made many meritorious deeds in the past few months. Have I forgotten to reward him?"
"Ah?" Mochou was stunned.
Xu Zhenguan muttered a few vague sentences to himself, and suddenly seemed to have made some decision, and said:
"In a few days, it will be the New Year. According to the rules, the emperor will hold a 'big banquet'. I must entertain hundreds of officials in the palace to celebrate New Year's Eve together... You will call the officials from the East Palace... everything must be kept secret. No disclosure.”
The empress gave a few instructions in a low voice. Mochou was confused at first, but gradually turned into astonishment:
"Your Majesty, is this...inappropriate? Mr. Zhao is only a fourth-grade commander, how can he..."
Xu Zhenguan pondered for two seconds: "Then give him a promotion first?"
Then he said with a sad face: "It's a little too late."
"...Slave, please go to the East Palace now!"
Mochou hurriedly interrupted the empress's random thoughts and fantastic thoughts, followed the order and left, walking in a hurry, almost running away.
Looking in the direction of the palace gate, his eyes were full of resentment:
"What kind of ecstasy soup did you pour into His Majesty again? Do you want His Majesty to prepare a special 'surprise' for you?"
……
……
On the other side, Zhao, who did not know that the empress had prepared a generous gift for him, left the palace in a happy mood.
He took back the horse from the guard, looked at the falling snow, and rode towards the prison of the Criminal Department.
Russian qing.
Zhao Duan arrived outside the prison again. This time Huang Shilang was not there. The "warden" in charge of the prison walked out eagerly with a smile on his face:
"Sir, you are here to see that person again..."
"Well, let's lead the way." Zhao Duan said calmly.
The prison boss didn't dare to ask any more questions and immediately led the way. After a while, Zhao Duan saw Lang Shiba in the prison again.
At this moment, Lang Shiba, who knew nothing about the changes in the external situation, was standing in the vent, raising his head and blowing the wind.
The wind and snow poured in from the "pin"-shaped vents, and the cold snow flakes sprinkled on the face of the North Blood Sword.
"Hao Yaxing, I thought you would give up on yourself and lie down waiting to die." Zhao Duan's voice came.
Lang Shiba opened his eyes, dragged the shackles, and turned around slowly. Under his messy long hair, his weathered face, full of green stubble, looked at Zhao Duan unexpectedly, and explained:
"I grew up on Tieguan Road since I was a child. In my memory, every year there is snow one after another.
When I was seven years old, a Taoist priest came to my house to ask for water and told me my fate. He said that it snowed on the day I was born and it would be the same when I died. Now it seems that the Taoist priest has magical powers. ”
Lang Shiba smiled, looked at Zhao Duan's empty hands, as if he had understood something, and said:
"Has my case been judged? When will I be taken to the execution ground? Today or tomorrow?"
Zhao Duan shook his head and said in the latter's confused eyes:
"Your case is about to be retried, and the trial will be held in a few days. However, because Cao Mao resigned on his own initiative, the case will not be too involved. It will only stop at his son who was hacked to death by you. It is not very satisfactory, but At least you don't have to die.
Well, I'm here to tell you, don't be stupid enough to seek death in advance. If you stay here for a few more days, after the case process is completed, His Majesty will give you a pardon... At that time, you can get your original identity back. . ”
Lang Shiba's expression was dull for a moment, and his mind seemed to be filled with rusty gears that could not turn for a moment:
"What...mean?"
Zhao Duan patiently explained the process again, and then said:
"That's about it. I'll leave first and wait for you to come out and then I'll give you the Wind Wind Wine."
After a pause, he added: "It seems that Taoist priest is a liar."
Zhao Duan turned and left.
Lang Shiba was left standing in the cell blankly, his messy hair illuminated by the beam of light coming through the hole.
He suddenly rushed to the cell door, holding the railing with both hands, looking at the end of the corridor, Zhao Duan was about to walk out, and shouted:
"Sir! Can I still serve you in the future?"
Zhao Duan’s back paused:
"Whatever."
Immediately, he walked out of the prison door, raised his face, and let the cold snowflakes fall on his face.
He knew in his heart: Until now, he had finally accepted the general Lang Shiba.
……
……
Zhenguogongfu.
"Father! Father!"
Two figures quickly opened the door and entered the courtyard. They walked along the courtyard of a large house, shouting excitedly.
After a while, Tang Zhao and Tang Ping, two siblings, excitedly opened the study door and looked at Tang Guogong, dressed as a rich man, holding a thick wolf brush and splashing ink.
The latter raised his eyebrows and smiled: "It seems that he is announcing the good news."
Rouge Horse Tang's eyebrows danced with joy:
"Cao Mao took the initiative to resign! That Cao Ke enemy has already surrendered to His Majesty, and will return to Beicheng to take over Cao Mao's position!"
The young father-in-law Tang Ping was not as quick to talk as his second sister, so he could only say:
"I heard that you invited Chen Guogong to come out? How did you do it?"
Although the two men only participated in a small part of the military public opinion task during this operation, they got the opportunity to go to the Jinluan Hall and submit a petition.
This would be extremely exciting. Not only Tang Ping, but even Tang Zhao also found it very exciting... more interesting than winning a war.
Tang Guogong was stunned for a moment and seemed to realize:
"Cao Kedi...is it really him?"
The two siblings gathered around, chattering and asking for details:
"Father, please tell us what is going on. Also... Mr. Zhao came over that night. What exactly did he discuss with you? Was it to convey His Majesty's will?"
Tang Guogong smiled, shook his head and said:
"It's not that complicated. When he speaks, his father is waiting for him to speak, that's all."
The two siblings looked at each other and exchanged glances.
Tang Ping: Second sister, do you understand?
Tang Zhao: What do you think?
Tang Ping:......
The two siblings looked up to the sky and sighed, the court was so complicated.
……
……
Zhaoyamen, Lihuatang.
The people in fine clothes returned to the hall in great numbers, each one still excitedly discussing what had just happened.
Qian Kerou opened the check-in door, sat down, and looked around:
"Hey, the one in red clothes without eyes..."
Hou Ren suddenly took off his saber and laid it across the table: "Jiyue."
"Yes, where is the Jiyue man? Didn't your Excellency let her stay at the entrance of the hall first?" Qian Kerou asked.
The movements of all the people in Jinyi stopped suddenly, and they looked at each other with confusion.
Then he became nervous. If he lost the person, wouldn't it be...
"Ah! There is a ghost in the well!"
Suddenly, there was an exclamation from outside the door.
Everyone was stunned and ran out one after another to the well in the yard next door.
A white servant in charge of the kitchen in the yamen sat on the ground. He used his hands and feet in fear and retreated away from the well mouth. Next to him was a bucket that fell on the ground.
When he saw someone coming, he shouted: "I...I came to fetch water, and I saw a head at the bottom of the well!"
Everyone felt like they were facing a powerful enemy.
The next second, the sorceress Ji Yue, who was dripping wet, with disheveled hair and white eyes without pupils, slowly climbed out of the well.
Everyone: "..."
Jiyue weakly faced countless gazes and explained in a low voice: "I..."
Shen Juan took a deep breath: "You don't need to explain, we all understand! Well, my master will be back in a minute, let me bring you a message."
"Ah?" Jiyue was confused.
Qian Kerou answered: "My elders said that Lang Shiba probably won't die."
"Ah?" Jiyue was stunned.
……
Typos should be corrected first
Thanks to Book Friends 2021...9606 for the one thousand point coin reward, and Xiao Xiaowei for the two hundred point coin reward
(End of chapter)