Chapter 183 The Call from the Bottom of the Lake
Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night for the scholars in Beijing.
Just when many literati were losing interest and returned home anxiously, preparing to fall asleep.
Groups of murderous imperial officers knocked on their doors.
"Master, master, something bad has happened. Officials from outside are here!" Chen Mansion.
Chen Zhengru, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, was studying at his desk. Suddenly, a servant rushed to the door in fear and pushed open the door.
"What?"
Chen Zhengru stood up suddenly. Before he could react, he saw officials from outside swarming in. The leader was Baihu Zhoucang.
He would smile and say:
"Scholar Chen, we suspect that the recent trend in Beijing is related to rebellion against the Party. Don't make things difficult for us. Please come back with us."
Chen Zhengru suddenly changed his expression and said:
"Zhao Duan is only a sixth-rank man and has no power to arrest me."
Zhou Cang threw an arrest ticket on his face, took a few steps closer, his smile disappeared, and he said:
"Grand Master, don't you understand? It's not Mr. Zhao who invited you over, but His Majesty."
Chen Zhengru's face turned pale and showed bitterness.
Reckoning – I didn’t expect it to come so quickly.
…
Somewhere in a house.
"Bang!" Officials rushed in like wolves and tigers.
Xu Hanlin had just fallen asleep when he came out wearing clothes, his face was fierce and his heart was full of tears:
"I am Hanlin..."
Hou Ren, who was on duty at Lihuatang today, struck out with the hilt of his sword. Xu Hanlin's vision suddenly went dark, severe pain hit him, and he bowed like a shrimp.
He actually fainted from the pain.
"Bah! You loser, how dare you deal with my master like this?"
The Hou Ren suddenly felt bored, turned his head and said ferociously:
"Take it away!"
…
Similar scenes happened in many places at the same time.
Prime Minister's Mansion, in the study.
The lights are bright.
Li Yanfu, who has sideburns like a hedgehog, eyebrows like stone ridges, and messy stubble spreading along both sides of his cheeks, has an expressionless face and is sitting upright on a large square chair.
His eyes as deep as a deep pool were fixed on the gorgeous knitted carpet in the room, where he stood with his head bowed and looked like he was being trained.
"...That's what happened."
Li Yinglong, who is nearly forty years old, has soft features, a high nose bridge, and sunken eye sockets, finished describing today's events, but did not wait for his father's response.
The atmosphere in the room was terrifyingly dull.
The hourglass on the table flows slowly, and you can hear the drop of a needle in the atmosphere.
It was as if the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, who had great ambitions and talent, was obviously old but still looked immature in his actions, could hear the sound of fine sand flowing.
In silence.
Finally, the leader of the Xiangguo Party, who was sitting in the main hall, slowly spoke, with only two words: "Stupid."
Li Yanfu had a faint expression of anger on his face:
"Did my father tell you last time that you should be patient and not stare at a cruel official? In the end, what did you do?"
Li Yinglong remained silent.
Li Yanfu sighed, as if he was a little tired: "That's all, that's it. If my prediction is correct, Your Majesty already knows it. Whether you use this excuse or buy a horse bone with a thousand gold, in the end, you won't give up. I’m afraid that Chen Zhengru will also be implicated and suffer a crime.”
After a pause, he narrowed his eyes and calmly ordered: "When you go to court tomorrow, you can find an excuse for your incompetence and ask your majesty to fine you at least half a year's salary. Hum, self-punishment is better than your majesty seeking bad luck for you. ”
Li Yinglong suddenly raised his head:
"Father, my son only pushed this matter a little bit, so he probably won't be able to find out..."
"Confused!" Li Yanfu's face was filled with tears. "Do you really think that His Majesty, at such a young age, cannot guess your shameless tactics?"
Li Yinglong opened his mouth and wanted to defend.
At this moment, there were sudden footsteps outside, and then there was a knock on the door:
"Master, the palace sent someone over, saying that His Majesty heard that you were ill, so he came to visit."
The father and son in the room looked at each other.
"Invite people to the front hall." Li Yinglong said.
After a while, Li Yinglong helped the Prime Minister, who looked bad and coughed repeatedly, to the front hall.
I saw several eunuchs waiting there. The leading eunuch stood up in a hurry:
"Since the Prime Minister is seriously ill, why did he come out in person? It's my turn to go visit him."
Li Yanfu sat down slowly, weak and completely different from just now:
"When the angel arrives, I should welcome it myself. I heard that His Majesty has been released from confinement?"
The middle-aged eunuch nodded and waved his hand, and the young eunuch next to him came forward holding precious boxes: "Your Majesty heard from Li Shilang that the prime minister was absent from this year's ceremony due to the cold due to the cold. He specially ordered his slaves to send the palace's nourishing treasures such as snow-capped old ginseng. .
Your Majesty felt that the Prime Minister was working hard for the court, and said that in this case, he should rest in peace and recuperate. In the next period of time, the Prime Minister will not have to go to court. "
He turned to Li Yinglong again and said: "Your Majesty also said that Mr. Li is a filial son. He wants to take care of the Prime Minister in the future, so he doesn't need to take care of some affairs of the Ministry of Industry. It is better to take care of his family."
Forbid his father to go to court... weaken his authority...
Mr. Xiao Ge's face changed slightly. He never thought that His Majesty would be so decisive in taking action and protect the pretty boy in such a way.
Revenge all night...Can't you wait even one day?
Li Yanfu looked calm and said with a smile: "In this case, I would like to thank your majesty for the old minister."
In the depths of his deep pupils, there was already silence.
…
…
"Your Majesty's holy grace, I have nothing to repay, I can only be devastated."
Zhao Duan vaguely guessed the outcome and decisively offered his loyalty.
When a leader rewards, he must give positive feedback in a timely manner. For him, it almost becomes a muscle instinct.
Xu Zhenguan was very satisfied, then frowned and said:
"It's just that I can help you block open shots, but it's hard to guard against hidden arrows. Next, the new policies will be released and implemented gradually and slowly.
And this will undoubtedly arouse fierce resistance from many people in the DPRK and China.
What I and the Grand Master mean is that you'd better stay away from the Xiuwen Hall, including the bachelor's title. For you, it will still do more harm than good at this moment. "
This is quite straightforward.
Once the new policy is made public, officials from wealthy noble families will inevitably fight back crazily and try to obstruct it.
In the court, a new round of fighting between dragons and tigers will surely take place. The scale of the battle will be even greater than the last party struggle surrounding Pei Kaizhi.
especially……
This time, the New Deal does not affect the "Li Party".
The members of the "Qingliu Party" behind Yuan Li also had a large number of elites, and even the "Imperial Party" of the empress also faced the huge risk of rebellion.
After all, when the court wants to compete with hundreds of officials for profit, the most loyal ministers will also raise their swords.
So coming up with a strategy is just the first step.
How to withstand the numerous obstacles is the real difficulty.
Just like in history, almost all the revolutionaries Zhao Duan was familiar with faced tragic ends.
Zhao Duan is still too weak now, his rank is only sixth rank, and he is still a military attaché.
The court struggle involved in the Xiuwen Guan was still too intense for him.
Therefore, the Empress thought it over and decided to let him hide under the wings of her and others, develop in a low profile and avoid the limelight.
"It all depends on His Majesty's orders." Zhao Duan nodded happily.
Xu Zhen looked at the time and said:
"It's been too long outside."
"I send you to Your Majesty."
Zhao Duan paid the bill, and after the empress lifted the shield, the two yakshas walked out of the noodle shop.
After finding a secluded place, the empress disappeared suddenly, leaving only a Yaksha mask falling on the ground.
Zhao Duan silently picked up the mask, looked at the brightly lit palace in the distance, and turned around to return the way he came.
The moon and stars were sparse, and he was alone in the bustling streets.
…
unconsciously.
Zhao Duan walked back to the bridge where he had just talked with the empress. He looked towards the river and thought of the face towel that floated away.
Then……
"Huh?"
Zhao Duan suddenly felt that this place looked familiar.
He even vaguely noticed that the energy in his body was boiling on its own, and there was a faint echo with the depths of the river in the distance.
He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention. He quietly slipped into the darkness and turned over to reach the bottom of the bridge.
Weird expression:
"What a coincidence... isn't this the location of the secret passage in the palace?"
However, what really surprised him was this.
At this moment, he clearly felt the faint attraction coming from the formation at the bottom of the lake.
As if...
call!
(End of chapter)