Chapter 321 The Empress’ Chess Game (2-in-1)
Does Xu Zhenguan want to be a wise king?
There is no doubt that she must obtain such an image even if she does not look at it from her own perspective, just from a practical perspective.
In Zhao Duan's previous life, when he looked through history, he found that Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty was very interesting. This emperor wanted to be a good emperor in the eyes of the world throughout his life. The reason was nothing more than the four words "win the country unjustly".
Just like when launching a war, you must first "make a name for yourself" so that you can stand firm.
If Xu Zhenguan wants to secure her position as empress, she needs to deal with the criticism.
"Winning the country unjustly"... is a rhetoric that Kuang Fu She has been spreading, and it has been widely circulated. The story about her killing her brother and father to seize power is naturally a fabricated rumor.
But even if this rumor is dispelled, as a woman, she ascended the throne and became a rare empress without the edict of the late emperor and the prince. This is already "unrighteous" in the eyes of the world.
If the name is not correct, the words will not be correct.
Therefore, Xu Zhenguan paid special attention to his words and deeds.
When she faced many constraints, she did not choose to rely on the imperial power or act arbitrarily with her cultivation. Instead, she tied her own hands and feet out of frustration and followed the "rules".
It's very interesting. As the most qualified person in the world to not follow rules, the empress cares about "rules" the most.
However, just tonight, some people broke this rule, forcing the empress to make a choice.
…
"I was actually surprised."
In the carriage, Zhao Duan stared at the candlestick lampshade on the table and said softly: "His Majesty really sent you here."
Mochou looked at him quietly, as if he understood something: "So, you are worried that His Majesty cannot make this decision, or you don't want His Majesty to make a decision, so you choose to take action?
As long as Gao Lian dies, the southern gentry will lose in this battle. You can take action secretly and relieve His Majesty's urgent need.
But have you ever thought about what outsiders would think? What would the southern gentry and Li party officials think? They would not be able to tell who had done it, and would only think that it was His Majesty who did it. "
Zhao Duan looked calm, looked at her quietly, and said with a smile: "But it's better than asking you to do it. Many things will be different if they are done or done right."
"Even if outsiders can't tell the difference? Can't tell?" Mochou retorted.
Zhao Duan said calmly:
"As time goes by, the truth will always come out. At least I will do it. Even if His Majesty is temporarily misunderstood, as time goes by, there will always be a day of clarification. But if it is really His Majesty who did it, he will not be cleared."
Don't be silent.
At this moment, she was in a daze: "So, what you did tonight was to protect the reputation of a wise king?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "What else?"
Mochou looked at him quietly for a while, shook his head and said, "I don't believe it, you must have other thoughts."
Her expression suddenly became strange: "You are not doing harm to the people, are you?"
Zhao Duan was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his hair was furious, and he glared: "Don't slander the bad guys! Do I look like the kind of stupid knight who stands up for justice?"
Don't slander bad people...
"..." Mochou was speechless for a moment as a mouthful of words stuck in his throat.
So, is fairness and justice something dirty and shameful to you?
Oh, yes, for a scumbag and traitor like you... indeed...
The four words "removing harm for the people" should not be connected with your name at all.
Well, he came here to deliberately break the topic because he wanted to show off his merits and show off his achievements in sharing His Majesty's worries. The ultimate goal was to flatter His Majesty and indulge in lust... It barely made sense... Mochou nodded and consciously found someone Zhao. A reasonable explanation for tonight's behavior.
But I still feel that this guy is a bit insincere...
"You shouldn't get involved in this matter," Mochou breathed out and said stiffly: "Your Majesty told you before that you don't need to care about Gao Lian's conviction."
Zhao Duan smiled coquettishly and said, "It's okay. Those who can do more work."
Mo Chou was so angry that his head ached. He raised his hand and pressed it on the small table in front of him, as if to increase his majesty with this action:
"Your Majesty is protecting you. He doesn't want you to get involved in a more complicated whirlpool too early. Do you understand?!"
Zhao Duan blinked his big innocent eyes, showing his innocence: "How do you say this?"
Mochou said angrily:
"Do you really think that you are the only one His Majesty can use? The investigation of the case depends entirely on you? In fact, in the case of Taicang Mansion, Your Majesty has long discovered that the shadow of Prince Jing's Mansion is behind it. Song Tiju, who submitted the letter of report and then disappeared, Who do you think it is?"
Zhao Duan frowned and became a little more serious: "You mean, he is Prince Jing's subordinate?"
Mochou nodded and sighed:
"According to the clues your Majesty has now, it is very likely that Song Tiju was picked up by spies from the Prince Jing's Palace after he sent out the report letter and fled to Jiancheng Road. The reason why he made the report at this juncture and set off this storm is for the purpose Just burn the fire on Li Yanfu and the southern nobles."
No wonder, the evidence of the crime left behind by Song Tiju is so abundant. I had been wondering how a small Tiju could be investigated without anyone noticing... If it was the handiwork of Prince Jing's Mansion, it would make sense...
Zhao Duan's face became solemn: "Keep talking!"
He had already made some guesses in his mind, but he still needed Da Bingtuozi to confirm.
Seeing that he was already involved in the mix, Mochou simply kept it secret and said: "The first step of the new policy you came up with is to open a market on the border of Huai River, and the next step is to spread the land into acres... When the news spread, those century-old families in the south were the most concerned.
First, the imperial court wanted to make money from them when doing finance.
Secondly, those wealthy families also have the most acres in their hands, which makes people's hearts wander.
The Eight Kings are even more unwilling for the court to implement the New Deal smoothly, and will definitely block it.
Therefore, King Jing may have set up a game to use Song Tiju as a chess piece to detonate the "Taicang Silver Mine", thus provoking conflicts between His Majesty and the Li party, and between the imperial court and the southern nobles. "
"This is a conspiracy, because even if His Majesty is suspicious, it is difficult to ignore it. Moreover, the implementation of the New Deal is bound to collide with the interests of the nobles. This matter cannot be avoided and cannot be avoided.
What's more, at that time, Your Majesty didn't know that this matter was related to Prince Jing, so he sent you there, firstly, to investigate the case; secondly, to kill chickens and monkeys and rectify the administration; thirdly, to beat the southern nobles. "
"And after Gao Lian entered Beijing, he indeed attracted resistance from the Li Party... Among those who have entered Beijing recently, the second master of the Shen family is the most critical."
Zhao Duan interrupted: "The Shen family? Gao Lian's father-in-law's family?"
He learned about this when he was a high-ranking official.
Mochou nodded and said:
According to the shadow guard's secret investigation, the Shen family has most likely taken refuge in Prince Jing's Mansion. This visit to Beijing seems to be a normal lobbying, but in fact, the people they come into contact with are... Li Dang is dominated by officials from the capital.
And Wang Chusheng's sudden death tonight, judging from his acting style, is not like what Li Yanfu would do. "
Zhao Duan's eyes suddenly sharpened:
"You mean, it might be the second master of the Shen family who killed Wang Chusheng? His purpose... was to further provoke the conflict between His Majesty and Li Yanfu?"
At this moment, with several key clues completed, the entire chain of evidence became clear in his mind:
In order to obstruct the promotion of the New Deal, Prince Jing tried to provoke a conflict between the empress and the "Li Party".
Detonating the Taicang silver mine is only the first step, and instigating the second master of the Shen family to kill is the second step.
...As soon as the silence comes out, everyone will doubt Li Yanfu, and Li Yanfu is firmly bound to the Jiangnan noble clan and cannot cut off his seat. As a result, the furious empress will naturally further suppress the "Li Party"...
If Li Yanfu continues to adhere to the original strategy, shrink his power, and abandon some members in exchange for the survival of the entire Li Party, it will inevitably cause the people below him to become alienated...
In order to maintain the position of "party leader" and start a war with the empress, this will cause the newly stabilized court situation to be turbulent again... the implementation of the New Deal will be hindered...
At the same time, the Shen family took advantage of the opportunity of "lobbying" to openly contact the other Beijing officials of the "Li Party". It is difficult to say that they did not offer an "olive branch" to Prince Jing and secretly win over...
Zhao Duan's mind was filled with thoughts and he took a gentle breath.
I felt that the fog that had shrouded my eyes since I rushed to Taicang Mansion suddenly dispersed.
"So, even if I don't catch Wang Chusheng, maybe Prince Jing's Mansion will find a way to deliver him to me..."
"The interception back to Beijing was most likely not for Gao and Wang, but for me... If I, the imperial envoy, died, I could blame Gao Lian or Li Yanfu... To further provoke the conflict between His Majesty and Li Dang... After all, the one who has the most motive to intercept and kill me, apart from Kuang Fushe, is Li Dang who is involved in the silver mine case..."
Zhao Duan whispered to himself, feeling a little creepy for the first time since traveling through time.
Link by link, it turns out that the silver mine case was just a primer.
The real battlefield from beginning to end is in the capital.
If there is a chessboard of heaven and earth outlined by territories between the capital and Prince Jing's Mansion.
Zhao Duan was the empress's cart that crossed the river and ate up one of the enemy's horses.
And this crappy horse was sent out deliberately by Prince Jing, and the crappy pawn was Wang Chusheng.
Mochou sighed softly and said helplessly:
"So, you know why His Majesty doesn't want you to get involved, right? In a fight of this level, your current position is not enough to be on the card table."
Zhao Duan, who was rare, did not fight back, but said with a strange expression:
"Speaking of which, Zhen... His Majesty wouldn't have expected that Wang Chusheng would be silenced, right?"
If Zhenbao had already figured out the real opponent in this game when he reported back to Beijing, would he really not have enough protection for Wang Chusheng?
Or are you letting it all go?
After all, if Wang Chu survives, then according to the current situation, Li Yanfu will try his best to extend the case at most, trying to keep Gao Lian alive for the time being, and then seek a subsequent turnaround.
At the end of the game, it was nothing more than executing Gao Lian, and the empress beat Li Dang again.
In the final analysis, it is nothing more than a conventional weakening of Li's party, similar to the overthrow of Pei Kaizhi.
And if Mr. Shen is allowed to kill people, he will kill Gao Lian again.
First of all, the empress will still win this battle, and this premise will not change.
The majesty of the imperial court and the purpose of intimidating local officials can still be achieved.
Secondly, although on the surface it seems that King Jing's conspiracy succeeded, the prerequisite for King Jing's success is that the empress was angered and severely punished Li Yanfu. She even launched a thunderbolt against the entire Li Party and the southern nobles behind her because of this silence incident. Such revenge!
In other words, Prince Jing was trying hard to provoke, trying to get the Queen to take the lead.
As long as the empress Hong Wen comes to power, she will no longer maintain her character as a "wise king" and begin to use force to destroy the Li Party.
Then King Jing's goal was achieved.
but……
"What if Zhenbao is not fooled?"
This thought suddenly came to Zhao Duan's mind.
"What if Zhenbao is not fooled, and does not use thunderous means to attack the Li party, but instead tries to divide them? With Li Yanfu's wisdom, he will definitely realize that he has been tricked by the Shen family and Prince Jing. Perhaps he has already made a plan to face it head-on. Preparations for war with Zhenbao...
But as long as Zhenbao doesn't get involved, he chooses to put away his thunderous anger or pour it out on the Shen family instead of pursuing others... In this way, he can not only stabilize Li Yanfu, but also complete the internal division of the Li Party, thus To weaken it..." The more Zhao Duan thought about it, the clearer his mind became.
He suddenly thought of the previous conversation with the old supervisor.
Sun Lianying once told him that Zhenbao was using the "New Deal to open the market" to win over the noble clans that divided the Yu Dynasty.
Zhao Duan only heard the old eunuch's words once and didn't pay much attention to them. Now that he thinks about it, isn't it a hint?
King Jing placed a piece on the chessboard, trying to trick the empress into anger and attack Li Dang.
The more Li Dang is attacked, the more united he will be. If he cooperates with Mr. Shen's efforts to win over him, it is likely that he will gradually fall to Prince Jing.
The empress, on the other hand, pretended not to know and deliberately entered the situation. When the time was right, she could split the Li party with just one backhand.
"Well... this move is not perfect, because in the final analysis, it only temporarily stabilizes Li Yanfu, but cannot bring him back. Moreover, this split situation will further force the situation to become tense... But, under the sun Where is the perfect chess game?”
Zhao Duan unconsciously closed his eyes.
There are many thoughts in the brain, as if "seeing" this game with the earth as a chessboard and hundreds of officials as chess pieces.
"Hiss... I seem to have underestimated Zhen Bao." Zhao Duan thought with a bit of toothache.
"Master Zhao?" In the carriage, Mochou saw that he was silent for a long time and seemed to be distracted, so she finally couldn't help calling softly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought of something." Zhao Duan smiled and said, "Where did we talk?"
"..." Mochou said speechlessly: "Ask me, Wang Chusheng's death..."
"Ah haha, I just said it casually, it's impossible even if you think about it." Zhao Duan interrupted her and took the initiative to cut off the topic.
They had talked too much tonight.
As for whether his guess was true or false, there was no need to answer the female officer's question.
Just look at how this thing ends and you will know.
Zhao Duan knew that many people in the capital would not be able to sleep peacefully tonight.
"Then I won't delay your return to the palace?" Zhao Duan asked with a smile.
"..." Mochou sighed.
Zhao Duan jumped out of the carriage with a smile, took two steps, and suddenly turned back and added: "By the way, don't forget to pay your respects to His Majesty for me?"
After saying that, before Da Bingtuozi could get angry, he greased the soles of his feet and ran towards the imperial office.
Mochou rubbed his forehead in pain and ordered: "Go back to the palace."
…
…
Prime Minister's Mansion.
"Father, father!"
Not long after Li Yanfu lay down, he wanted to take a nap to deal with tomorrow's troubles.
Ordinary people would lose sleep when encountering such a thing, but Xiangguo, who has experienced countless storms in his life, has the ability to force himself to sleep.
However, after sleeping for a while, I heard an unscrupulous voice coming from outside the door.
Li Yanfu woke up with a start, and his right eyelid couldn't stop twitching. For the first time, he did not reprimand his son for his actions, but took the initiative to get up and walked out the door wearing baggy pajamas.
"What happened?" The old man opened the door and got straight to the point with his first sentence.
Li Yinglong's robe was stained with night dew, his face was extremely ugly, and he said almost tremblingly: "Gao Lian is dead."
Li Yanfu's breath tightened.
He held the door with both hands and stared at his son: "How did you die?"
"It was said to be a sudden death, but there were no injuries except for the bitten finger. He died sitting cross-legged in the prison cell. There was a confession written in his own blood on the ground in front of him."
Li Yinglong quickly described the information he had obtained:
"Before his death, there was no movement. Mo Zhaorong discovered it. She led a group of people out of the palace and went to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. They named Gao Lian to be interrogated alone. Within a short time of entering and exiting, he died.
The people over there said that Mo Zhaorong was already dead when he went in, but how could that be possible? It was clear that someone had gone to see Wang Chu when he was alive and dead, and Gao Lian was fine at that time. "
Li Yinglong was also anxious. After speaking in one breath, his face twitched and said: "Father! Your Majesty did it! It must be the person who His Majesty sent Mo Zhaorong to kill, and he didn't even cover it up!"
Don’t even pretend!
No more betraying anyone! We all know that we are carrying people behind our backs when we kill people!
Mr. Xiao Ge was so frightened that two people died in a row tonight that his back felt cold.
Li Yanfu was silent, his face filled with an "unexpected but reasonable" look.
There was an inexplicable trace of ridicule in his eyes. The Shen family... haha, they are just a peaceful noble family. How have they ever seen a real bloody storm? Do you really think that being with the "Eight Kings" will give you the courage to run rampant in the capital?
This group of rats from the south only knew that the empress was a woman, but had they never seen with their own eyes the scene on the day of the Xuanmen coup?
"Prepare the car." Li Yanfu sighed and said calmly: "Ask the servants to help me dress. I want to go to the palace to see you."
Now that things have come to this, he knows that he cannot escape what is coming.
It has to be faced eventually.
"Father, it's so late, Your Majesty should take a rest. Why not tomorrow..."
"I want you to prepare the car!"
Li Yinglong was frightened by the rebuke and hurriedly made arrangements. This waiter, who thought he was used to the ups and downs of the court, realized his immaturity at this moment.
At least when it comes to the dangers of the survival of the Li Party and the rise and fall of the Li family, his shoulders are far less resistant than those of his aging father.
…
The palace is brightly lit.
Xu Zhenguan sat in the imperial study room, closed his eyes and rested, waiting quietly.
It wasn't until familiar footsteps came from outside the door that she opened her bright eyes.
"Your Majesty, I'm back." Mochou bowed respectfully, then crossed the threshold and walked into the room.
Xu Zhenguan said "yes" and asked with a smile: "How is it?"
"Gao Lian is dead. He also left a confession and arranged for someone to do it. Tomorrow we will announce that he committed suicide out of fear of guilt." Mochou said.
"Very good," Xu Zhenguan's expression was calm, and his plain white face looked like a gilded Buddha in the light, "Is there anything else?"
Mochou lowered his head, took a deep breath, and said:
"But it was not the slave who executed him. Someone had done it for His Majesty the moment before the slave arrived."
Xu Zhenguan was obviously stunned for a moment, showing genuine surprise.
Fortunately, Mochou didn't let her wait too long before spitting out Zhao Duan's name.
He also completely recounted how he met Zhao Duan after leaving the prison and what he said in the carriage.
This matter cannot be hidden, and the other guards see it.
Of course, the more important thing is that Mochou can assist the empress in handling state affairs as a maid. The most important thing is that she never hides anything from the empress, let alone deceives.
Even though as a "love rival", she was unwilling to take credit for Zhao Duan, she still didn't hide it.
Mochou still clearly remembers that she once learned from Sun Lianying when she was in the palace of the Three Emperors. At that time, the old eunuch did not say any profound words, but only taught her a simple and simple truth:
"As slaves, as long as we serve our master wholeheartedly and do not deceive or conceal anything, that is our duty."
Mochou wrote this sentence on his sleeve, read it whenever he had nothing to do, and acted according to this experience till now.
She has never done any tricks, but she has become the head of the six female officials. She has not the slightest bit of greed for power, but she has become the "big girl" who works for the empress.
"Zhao Duan?" The empress was stunned, with an extremely complicated expression. After a long time, she just asked: "So, he finally asked you to pay my respects on his behalf?"
"Yes." Mochou nodded honestly.
Xu Zhenguan couldn't tell whether to laugh or cry. He couldn't tell what he was feeling and said, "You are honest. You have recounted everything. If he said something inaccurate to me, do you also want to repeat it?"
Mochou, who used to have a bright mind, suddenly couldn't understand what the empress meant. His expression was stunned and he was entangled: "This..."
Fortunately, she didn't hesitate for too long when she heard another person coming outside the door to report: "Prime Minister Li Yanfu wants to see you."
In the room, Xu Zhenguan, who was smiling, calmed down his relaxed expression and pursed his red lips:
"Xuan."
…
The night is extremely dark.
When Li Yanfu stepped into the Meridian Gate and walked in the dark square, his whole body was wrapped tightly in his scarlet official robe due to the cold.
In his memory, it had been a long time since he had visited the palace so late at night.
At first, the old emperor ignored the government affairs in his later years and only left the cabinet affairs to him. Then, it was the prince who shared the lunch box.
From that time on, there were fewer opportunities to enter the palace late at night.
In the three years since the empress ascended the throne, Li's party has been suppressed continuously. The empress supported the Qingliu party to check and balance him, and would also summon people from the imperial party or Qingliu party to the palace when necessary.
"Woo-"
The cold wind of the autumn night blew through the robe, and Li Yanfu stepped across the square and was led to a side hall.
He was ready to be left here by the angry empress, with his eyes open until dawn.
I remember that the late emperor once got angry and left him alone for three hours. It was still winter and there was heavy snowfall.
Li Yanfu waited until he almost collapsed in the snow-covered palace city. The pain in his bones and bones came from that time.
He originally thought that he would suffer the same fate tonight so that His Majesty could calm down.
However, what surprised him the most was that when the leading eunuch led him to the side hall, he saw Empress Dayu standing under the eaves, waiting quietly.
Xu Zhenguan showed a gentle smile: "The prime minister is old, how can he work hard? Come and drink the soup quickly."
Li Yanfu was startled and suddenly realized that the third princess in front of him was very different from the late emperor.
Thank you to Zhang Xiubiao for the 500-coin reward and Li Shipu for the 200-coin reward!
(End of this chapter)