Chapter 412 I would like to ask the Duke to submit a letter of surrender
Chapter 412 I would like to ask the Duke to submit a letter of surrender
Zhao Duan moved his hips back and sat back in his original position, and the corner of the curtain that had been lifted up also dropped down again.
"Is this what Your Majesty meant?" He fixed his eyes on the other person across the small stove in the car.
Yuan Li held the jade ruyi in his hand and gently tapped the wrench on the side of the furnace. Suddenly, air rushed in and the fire in the furnace became brighter: "Yes."
Zhao Duan took a deep breath and leaned forward slightly: "Why?"
The man in blue clothes said calmly, "Zhao Shixiong, who was stationed at Yunfu Road, did not return this New Year."
This statement sounded incoherent, but Zhao Duan was very smart and understood the implication immediately:
"Your Majesty, are you worried about the generals leading the troops at the border?"
Yuan Li neither admitted nor denied it, but just said:
“Her Majesty summoned me to the palace today and told me that she had a meeting with Duke Cao and hoped that the Duke would transfer his two sons who were serving in the army back to the capital for training.
But Duke Cao did not agree. Well, you may not know that Duke Cao only brought his adopted son back to Beijing this time, but not his biological son.
hiss……
Zhao Duan's pupils narrowed, realizing that this was a very dangerous signal.
When the empress first ascended the throne, due to the turbulent times, enemies everywhere, and lack of direct supporters, she adopted a strategy of appeasing important officials from the old emperor's time for a long time.
But this is only temporary. As the situation changes, these ministers who hold military power but are far away from the emperor must make their attitude clear.
Returning to Beijing at the end of the year is a test.
"Is it because Zhao Shixiong refused to return that Zhenbao realized that the matter could not be delayed any longer? Or was it also because Cao Mao's sudden arrest of Lang Shiba and his subtle move to force the emperor to abdicate made Zhenbao believe that Cao Mao was not reliable?
So let him pay more tribute? Leave his offspring in the capital as a 'hostage'? "
“Speaking of which, although Cao Mao is not like Zhao Shixiong and still chose to come back, he did not come back completely… It’s normal when you think about it. His actions of arresting Lang Shiba and forcing Zhen Bao to abdicate were like dancing on the edge of a knife.
Relying on his deep roots in Jubei City and his status as a "Duke", the court could tolerate even a little bit of deviation, but it was clear that Cao Mao was not so confident...
He was worried that if he did this, he would be detained by Zhenbao, so he left his other descendants in the Northern Army. This was also an additional insurance for his own safety...
However, as the saying goes, if one's position is not firm, then there is no position at all... Is Cao Mao too conceited and thinks Zhen Bao dare not touch him, or does he really have ulterior motives?"
Zhao Duan’s thoughts raced.
Yuan Li continued:
"And, your majesty means that the royal family's shadow guards in the north have reported back that Duke Cao is no longer fit to lead the army."
This sentence is very implicit... So, Cao Mao did indeed behave in a restless manner?
So this forced Zhenbao to make up her mind and take action?
Zhao Duan considered it for a moment and said, "What does your majesty want to do?"
Yuan Li said softly:
"If you want Duke Cao to step down, you need a reason. Lang Shiba's case is a good starting point. Your Majesty means that you can start with this case and implicate Cao Mao in some of his past shady deeds, so that you can have a reason to get him off the throne."
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment and said:
"And then? It's not difficult to convict Cao Mao, but it shouldn't be easy to depose a powerful duke."
This is a general with military power!
Do you really think that just convicting someone will do the trick?
Once Cao Mao is about to be touched, will the interest groups that have interests with this Duke just sit there and wait for death?
Or to put it more pointedly, once Cao Mao is deposed, how can we ensure that the generals who defend the North City will behave themselves?
Obey the orders of the court obediently?
How can it be that easy?
The most crucial thing is how to resolve the crisis that may be caused by overthrowing Cao Mao.
"Your Majesty has naturally already made a plan. Please take a look at this." Yuan Li took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it to Zhao Duan.
The latter opened his eyes with the help of the firelight, his pupils narrowed slightly, he looked up in astonishment and stared at Yuan Li:
"This……"
Yuan Li smiled slightly and said, "This is top secret, please don't tell anyone else."
Zhao Duan's face became slightly excited. He closed the letter and said:
"Did your majesty ask Lord Yuan to come to me?"
Yuan Li shook his head and said:
"No. So you can choose to stay out of it."
Zhao Duan pursed his lips and said after a moment:
"What is Mr. Yuan's plan?"
Yuan Li smiled and said:
"If we can get Cao Mao to give up his military power voluntarily, it will undoubtedly be less risky than forcibly removing him. If we want to avoid falling out, we must make Lang Shiba's case a big deal and let everyone in the world know what Cao Mao did. In other words, we need public opinion to give Your Majesty a chance to publicly review the case and let the truth come to light."
"Next, people with inside information will complain to the government, and some of the iron-willed censors in our Censorate will impeach Cao Mao one after another in order to gain reputation. But it is not enough for the censors to speak out, we also need the people to speak out and form a wave of public opinion.
It would be best if we also need the support of soldiers in the army.
In addition, Cao Mao is a nobleman. If something happens to him, the nobles in the capital who usually don’t show up will probably take action. This is also a target we need to find a way to disintegrate.”
After listening, Zhao Duan asked, "When?"
"The sooner the better."
"Got it," Zhao Duan handed the top-secret booklet in his hand back to him.
But Yuan Li simply used the jade ruyi to open the lid of the stove and threw the booklet into the already dim charcoal fire. The flames jumped out and enveloped it.
Zhao Duan opened the curtain and walked out, leaving behind a sentence:
"Mr. Yuan will handle the affairs of the Censorate, and leave the rest to me."
Yuan Li was stunned for a moment, and his eyes followed the former: "I'll leave it all to you?"
Zhao Duan jumped off the carriage, turned around and smiled at the man in blue, revealing a mouthful of white teeth in the darkness:
"I have helpers, too."
……
……
"Da da da……"
In the night, on the street outside the imperial court, a horse broke through the cold wind and stopped outside the Pear Blossom Hall. Zhao Duan dismounted and entered the government office. Following the light in the duty room, he opened the door and saw a group of Jinyi officers working overtime, copying documents.
"Sir? Why are you back again?"
Qian Kerou looked up in surprise and asked blankly.
Zhao Duan calmly pointed Shen Juan out and went into another empty room. He then quickly filled a piece of paper and handed it to Shen Juan:
"It was you who dealt with the Red Flower Society last time, right?"
Shen Juan stared at the dark circles under his eyes and nodded: "Yes."
Zhao Duan nodded: "Very good, you go and tell the people from the Red Flower Society to do these things on paper. Say it's my idea."
Shen Juan took the paper blankly, glanced at it, and his expression suddenly changed:
"Your Excellency, do you want to..."
Zhao Duan stared at him: "Stop asking questions and do it."
Shen Juan's eyes lit up, and he clasped his hands together and said, "I obey your command."
After saying this, he went out to change his clothes, then walked straight out of Lihua Hall, leading his horse into the night.
As an officer in the imperial court, he was very familiar with the headquarters of the largest underground gang in the capital.
Soon we arrived at a wealthy area.
Knock on the door.
"who."
The back door of the low-key four-story mansion was opened a crack, and a middle-level gang member spoke in a calm voice, then choked and stuttered: "Shen... Master?"
Shen Juan walked straight into the mansion and said expressionlessly:
"Tell your boss to come out and see me, immediately, right now."
A few moments.
In the main hall of the house, Shen Juan, who was sitting with a big horse and a golden sword, saw a bald middle-aged man jogging hurriedly outside the door.
In the middle of winter, he was only wearing thin pajamas. He hurriedly buttoned his outer robe as he walked, and his shoes were not even tightly closed. It was obvious that he had received news and hurriedly got out of a woman's bed.
The current leader of the Red Flower Society rushed into the room, and the dignified underground gang boss bowed his head in flattery:
"Master Shen, why are you here suddenly?"
Shen Juan didn't even bother to glance at him and said, "My master wants to tell you a few things."
The Red Flower Society leader looked serious and asked, "Master Zhao, what do you want?"
Shen Juan took out a piece of paper and said, "Tomorrow, my master wants this news to spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital."
The leader of the Red Flower Society picked it up and took a look. In the middle of winter, cold sweat instantly broke out on his bald head. He stared at the words "Duke Cao" in a daze.
Shen Juan glanced at him: "Why? Don't you dare to do it, or can't do it?"
The leader of the Red Flower Society, who was regarded as the underground emperor in the capital and had tens of thousands of followers, bowed deeply:
"We will do our best to serve Lord Zhao."
It is certainly a headache to offend a duke, but compared with Zhao Yanwang, he naturally knows which side to stand on.
……
……
The residence of Duke Tang.
The night wind blew across the clean and spacious streets, and the two red lanterns under the lintel of the mansion swayed slightly.
"Lord Zhao?" The doorman opened the door and looked at Zhao Duan, who came to visit unexpectedly, in surprise.
"I'm here to visit the Duke. Could you please let him know?" Zhao Duan smiled.
The doorman was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly welcomed him in and called the servant to inform him.
Soon, Zhao Duan was led into the study in the mansion.
When he opened the door, he saw Duke Tang, who was wearing loose and soft clothes, sitting behind the table. He slowly put down the brush he was practicing calligraphy with, looked up at him with a little surprise, and said with a smile:
"The envoy came quickly, but he didn't send a letter in advance, so he missed dinner."
Zhao Duan apologized:
"I am sorry for the intrusion of visiting you at night. But I do have an important matter that I want to discuss with you."
Duke Tang, who looked like a wealthy man, smiled and asked him to sit down: "Oh, what's the big deal?"
Zhao Duan got straight to the point and said, "I would like to ask the Duke to submit a letter of surrender."
Duke Tang paused and slowly narrowed his eyes.
……
In the courtyard of the Duke's Mansion.
The brother and sister who came upon hearing the news met outside the study. In the cold wind, they hugged each other's arms and looked at the shadows of the two people in the room reflected on the closed door of the study with complicated expressions.
Young Master Tang Ping smacked his lips:
"Second sister, you said that Lord Zhao suddenly came to our house and talked with Dad in the study room for such a long time. What was it all about? It couldn't be a complaint, right? Didn't we talk about what happened this morning?"
The straightforward and tough female general Tang Zhao, who had dark wheat-colored skin, also crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, and said:
"You ask me, who should I ask?"
After waiting for a long time, suddenly two figures reflected on the window paper stood up at the same time.
Then, with a creaky sound, the study door opened, and Duke Tang smiled as he sent Zhao Duan away. He then looked at his two children, who were like curious babies, with a flash of light in his eyes:
"You came just in time. Father has something to tell you."
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The next chapter will be updated at midnight. My butt is a little numb from sitting for a long time. I finished writing this chapter while kneeling in front of the computer... It's so tiring to write in this posture...
Thanks to Evernight001 for the -coin reward
(End of this chapter)