Chapter 183 The Call from the Lake
Chapter 183 The Call from the Lake
Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night for the scholars in the capital.
Just when many literati were losing interest and returning home anxiously, preparing to go to sleep.
Teams of murderous imperial officials knocked on their door.
"Master, master, something terrible has happened. The police are here!" Chen Mansion.
Chen Zhengru, Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, was reading at his desk when a servant suddenly ran in in fear and pushed the door open.
"what?"
Chen Zhengru stood up suddenly, and before he could react, he saw the officials outside rushing in, led by the centurion Zhou Cang.
This time he smiled and said:
"Mr. Chen, we suspect that the recent trend in the capital is related to the rebels. Please don't make things difficult for us. Please come back with us."
Chen Zhengru's face turned pale and he said:
"Zhao Duan is only a sixth-rank official. He has no power to arrest me."
Zhou Cang threw an arrest warrant in his face, took a few steps closer, his smile disappeared, and said:
"Grandmaster, don't you understand? The one who invited you over is not Lord Zhao, but His Majesty."
Chen Zhengru's face turned pale and he looked bitter.
Reckoning - I didn't expect it to come so soon.
……
Somewhere in a house.
"Bang!" The police rushed in like wolves and tigers.
Xu Hanlin had just fallen asleep, and now he came out in his clothes, looking fierce but weak:
"I am a Hanlin..."
The Hou Ren who was on duty at Lihua Hall today struck out with the handle of his knife. Xu Hanlin's eyes went dark immediately, and he was struck by severe pain, and he bent over like a shrimp.
He actually fainted from the pain.
"Bah! You useless bastard, you dare to deal with my master with this?"
Hou Renmeng was bored, turned his head and said fiercely:
"take away!"
……
Similar scenes happened in many places at the same time.
In the study room of the Xiangguo Mansion.
Bright lights.
His sideburns were like inverted hedgehogs, his eyebrows were like stone edges, and his messy stubble spread along both sides of his cheeks. Where his sideburns met his sideburns, Li Yanfu had an expressionless face as he sat upright in a large square chair.
His eyes, as deep as a dark pool, were fixed on the "young cabinet minister" who was standing on the gorgeous knitted carpet in the room with his head bowed, looking like he was receiving training.
"…That's what happened."
Li Yinglong, who is nearly 40 years old, with feminine features, a high nose bridge and deep eye sockets, finished narrating what happened today, but did not wait for his father's response.
The atmosphere in the room was terribly depressing.
The hourglass on the table ticks slowly, and you can hear a pin drop.
This ambitious but incompetent Minister of Works, who was clearly not young anymore but still acted immaturely, seemed to be able to hear the sound of flowing sand.
In silence.
Finally, the leader of the Xiangguo Party, who was sitting high in the main hall, slowly spoke with only two words: "Stupid."
Li Yanfu's face was filled with anger:
"Did your father tell you last time to be patient and not to stare at a cruel official? In the end, what did you do?"
Li Yinglong said nothing.
Li Yanfu sighed, looking a little tired:
"Forget it, it's over now. If I'm right, your Majesty has already known about it, whether it's using this as an excuse or paying a huge sum of money to buy the horse's bones, he won't let it go. I'm afraid Chen Zhengru will also be implicated and suffer."
After a brief pause, he narrowed his eyes and calmly ordered:
"Tomorrow when you go to court, find an excuse to say that you are not doing your job well, and ask His Majesty to fine you at least half a year's salary. Humph, it's better to punish yourself than for His Majesty to punish you."
Li Yinglong raised his head suddenly:
"Father, I only pushed this matter a little bit, so I don't think I can find out..."
"Stupid!" Li Yanfu's face was as dark as water. "Do you really think that His Majesty, at such a young age, can't guess your unpresentable tricks?"
Li Yinglong opened his mouth and wanted to explain.
At this moment, there were footsteps outside, followed by a knock on the door:
"Master, someone from the palace came to say that His Majesty heard that you were ill, so he came to visit you."
The father and son in the room looked at each other.
"Please invite the person to the front hall." Li Yinglong said.
After a while, Li Yinglong came to the front hall, supporting the prime minister, who looked unwell and coughed continuously.
I saw several eunuchs waiting there, and the leading eunuch stood up hurriedly:
"Since the Prime Minister is seriously ill, why did he come out in person? We should go and visit him."
Li Yanfu sat down slowly, looking completely different from how he was just now:
"When the angel arrives, I, as an old minister, will welcome him. I heard that His Majesty has come out of seclusion?"
The middle-aged eunuch nodded and waved his hand. The young eunuch next to him came forward holding a number of valuable boxes and said, "Your Majesty heard from Minister Li that the Prime Minister caught a cold and therefore missed this year's ceremony. He specially ordered me to send you Snow Mountain Old Ginseng and other nourishing treasures from the palace.
Your Majesty feels that the Prime Minister has been working hard for the court, and said that since this is the case, the Prime Minister should rest and recuperate, and the Prime Minister will not have to attend court for the next period of time. "
He turned to Li Yinglong and said:
"Your Majesty also said that Minister Li is a filial son. I think he should take care of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Works. So I don't need to worry about it for now. It's better for him to focus on taking care of his family."
Forbid my father to attend court... weaken my own authority...
The young cabinet minister's face changed slightly. He had never thought that His Majesty would act so decisively and protect that pretty boy so much.
Revenge overnight... can't you even wait for a day?
Li Yanfu looked calm and smiled:
"In that case, I thank Your Majesty on behalf of this old minister."
Deep within those pupils, there was a cold silence.
……
……
"Your Majesty, I have no way to repay your grace, except to sacrifice my life for you."
Zhao Duan vaguely guessed the result and decisively offered his loyalty.
When leaders reward, they must give positive feedback in a timely manner. For him, it has almost become a muscle instinct.
Xu Zhenguan was very satisfied, and then frowned and said:
“However, I can help you block open attacks, but I cannot protect you from hidden arrows. Next, the new policy will be released and implemented gradually and slowly.
This will undoubtedly arouse fierce resistance from many people in the court.
What I and the Grand Master mean is that you'd better stay away from Xiuwen Hall, including the title of Bachelor. For you, it still does more harm than good at the moment."
This is quite straightforward.
Once the new policy is made public, officials from aristocratic families will inevitably launch a frantic counterattack and try to obstruct it.
A new round of fierce competition will surely take place in the court, and its scale and momentum will probably be no less than the last party struggle surrounding Pei Kaizhi.
especially……
This time, the new policy affects more than just the "Li Party".
The members of the "Qingliu Party" behind Yuan Li also include a large number of aristocratic scholars, and even the "Imperial Party" of the empress, who also face the huge risk of rebellion.
In the final analysis, when the court has to compete with the officials for profit, even the most loyal ministers will take up their swords.
So, coming up with a strategy is just the first step.
The real difficulty is how to withstand the heavy resistance.
Just like in history, the reformers Zhao Duan was familiar with almost all faced tragic end.
Zhao Duan is still too weak now, his rank is only sixth, and he is still a military officer.
The court struggles that Xiuwenguan was involved in were still too intense for him.
So, after much deliberation, the empress decided to let him hide under the wings of herself and others, develop in a low-key manner, and stay out of the limelight.
"It's all at your command, Your Majesty." Zhao Duan nodded happily.
Xu Zhen looked at the time and said:
"It's been too long out there."
"I will see you off, Your Majesty."
Zhao Duan paid the bill, and after the empress lifted the blockade, the two Yakshas walked out of the noodle shop.
After finding a secluded place, the empress suddenly disappeared, leaving only a Yaksha mask on the ground.
Zhao Duan silently picked up the mask, looked at the brightly lit palace in the distance, turned around and returned the same way.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. He was the only one left in the bustling streets.
……
unconsciously.
Zhao Duan walked back to the bridge where he had just talked with the empress, looked towards the river, and thought of the handkerchief that had floated away.
then……
"what?"
Zhao Duan suddenly felt that this place looked familiar.
He also vaguely realized that the Qi in his body was boiling on its own, establishing some kind of resonance with the deep river water in the distance.
He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, so 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 this chapter)