Chapter 549: New Lihuatang Jishi takes office

Chapter 549: New Lihuatang Jishi takes office

Chapter 549: New Lihuatang Jishi takes office (5k)

In the imperial study, Zhao Duan's expression was very serious.

On the secret letter in his hand was a "confession" from an official of the Qingliu Party, who confessed that he had obeyed the orders of Yuan Li, the Imperial Censor of the Censorate, and colluded with Xu Jingtang, the Prince of Mu.

Zhao Duan’s first thought after seeing it was that it was absurd.

Yuan Li is the second "friendly" court giant he met after coming to this world, besides the empress. She has always had a clear position. In the past, she was a mortal enemy of Li Yanfu, and joined forces with the empress to purge the court many times.

Although he does not belong to the "Royal Party", there is no big problem with his butt.

Xu Zhenguan said calmly: "It's just a confession, it may not be true."

Zhao Duan's heart moved: "What's going on?"

Xu Zhenguan did not hide anything and described the situation in a few words.

Not complicated.

Some time ago, the entire court was dealing with the aftermath of the demise of the Li Party. Due to a lot of vacancies, the Imperial Party was able to grow stronger.

The court is now divided into two factions: the "Imperial Party" and the "Pure Stream Party".

However, when the six rebel kings entered the capital and the situation was turbulent, it was certainly not only the members of the "Li Party" who secretly colluded with and defected to the rebel kings.

There are also many officials in Yuan Li's "Qingliu Party" who are suspected. However, they have not been free to investigate in detail for the sake of political stability.

As the situation stabilized in the past two months, Ma Yan began to continue screening the court and successfully discovered some traitors in the Qingliu Party.

At first, he only investigated secretly, but because he was discovered while tracking, he had to arrest a minor official and threw him into the imperial prison for torture. However, the official insisted that he was following Yuan Li's orders and provided intelligence from the capital to the Yunfu rebels.

"This confession may not be true, it may also be a false accusation." Zhao Duan thought for a while and said.

Xu Zhenguan sighed softly and said:

"I don't believe that Lord Yuan would do that. But many people in the court may not think so. Moreover, although you took the blame for Emperor Wei Xianzong's crime, it is still a stain on Yuan Li."

Wei Xianzong, the commander-in-chief of Qingzhou, was recommended by Yuan Li and later betrayed the court.

Last time, Zhao Duan took the initiative to ask for Wei Xianzong to come over and quelled the attacks against Yuan Li, but some doubts about Yuan Li are always inevitable.

Besides... speaking of which, who can really be sure that Yuan Li, the "party leader", really did not collude secretly with the rebel king?
Zhao Duan was also not sure.

"Your Majesty, what do you think we should do?" Zhao Duan decided to play it safe and test Zhenbao's thoughts first.

Xu Zhenguan said calmly:
"The corrupt officials in the Qingliu Party who are colluding with the rebels must be eliminated. But Yuan Li cannot fall, at least not now."

Li Yanfu has fallen.

If Yuan Li also falls for "collaborating with the enemy", the court that has just stabilized will be in turmoil again.

People’s hearts will also be unstable.

Therefore, although it is a bit cruel, as long as Yuan Li does not have clear evidence of collaborating with the enemy, this flag cannot be brought down.

Of course, for safety reasons, it is necessary to restrict Yuan Li's decision-making on the current direction of the war and intelligence acquisition to a certain extent.

Zhao Duan understood. He pondered for a moment and analyzed:

"The traitors must understand this principle. So no matter whether Lord Yuan has any problems or not, once he is arrested, the traitors will all speak with one voice and drag Lord Yuan onto the warship.

Whether it is to protect himself or to drag others into the water, this is a good strategy. Even thinking deeper, isn't the rebel king deliberately letting these people throw dirty water to alienate the relationship between Your Majesty and Lord Yuan? "

Zhao Duan, who had just used a strategy of sowing discord, smelled a conspiracy.

He continued:

"But without concrete evidence, Your Majesty cannot take action against Lord Yuan. And if we arrest a large number of Qingliu Party officials, Lord Yuan, as the 'party leader', cannot sit idly by.

If he does nothing, he will lose all his prestige, which is definitely not a good thing for him, the family behind him, or the stability of the court."

Xu Zhenguan sighed:
"That's right. That's why I'm hesitant and am hesitant about how to do this. I want to discuss this with you."

Zhao Duan said nothing, frowning in thought.

The situation is delicate.

Ideally, all the traitors within the Qingliu Party should be uncovered and eliminated without damaging Yuan Li's prestige.

But this itself is a problem.

Because what Ma Yan had was definitely only evidence of some officials colluding with the enemy, and there might not be enough evidence to arrest more traitors.

Eliminating the traitors would inevitably force Yuan Li to step down and confront the empress.

In this confrontation, no matter who wins or loses, the only one who suffers is the imperial court.

Hiss... These princes actually came up with a scheme, and the villains actually have intelligence... Zhao Duan was amazed.

He also realized the dilemma Zhenbao was facing.

He pondered:

"Purge the Qingliu Party. This major goal must be achieved. There is no doubt about it. Confrontation with Yuan Gong is also inevitable.

But the key point here is that someone needs to do something specific and control the scale.

Once the limit is crossed, it is likely to cause another shock in the court... and when the battle is going on in the front, chaos will break out in the rear... We must not allow this to happen."

But who can control this degree?
There is no shortage of outstanding talents in the court, but there are very few who are both capable and have a clean stance, who will never betray, and who can fight against an old fox like Yuan Li.

"I will do this." Zhao Duan took a deep breath and said seriously:

"Now that I have a healthy body, I can handle this matter. However, I am still planning the next step to alienate Xu Jingtang, so it is best not to reveal my identity for the time being.

Perhaps, I can act under a new identity.

Well... the position of Lihuatang's chief inspector has been vacant for a long time. Your Majesty can issue an order to give me the position of acting chief inspector."

Xu Zhenguan said "yes", his eyes were gentle with a hint of apology:
"But I have to trouble you again... You won't be able to rest for a moment."

Zhao Duan winked playfully:
"If your majesty feels bad, how about you make it up to me when I advance to the celestial realm?"

Xu Zhenguan gnashed his teeth, turned around, and turned his face away from him:

"You are dreaming. You haven't even reached the top of the worldly realm yet, but you are already dreaming of becoming a celestial being."

No…if you can practice both, you don’t necessarily have to advance…Zhao Duan complained.

Xu Zhenguan waved his sleeves and said:

"Go away. Now that you have a body, go home and visit your family. I will make arrangements for the temporary arrest."

whoosh-

As she finished speaking, a pure white mask and a token of offering flew out from her sleeve and were caught by Zhao Duan.

He smiled, and with his right hand, he pressed the "white face" on the puppet's face, and with his left hand, he put away the token that allowed him to walk in and out of the palace:

"Sir, obey the order."

As I stepped out of the door, I suddenly heard a cold voice behind me:
"By the way, there have been some rumors about you in the capital recently, you should pay attention to them."

Rumors against me?

Zhao Duan was surprised. He already had such status now, how could anyone dare to attack him?
……

……

Wearing a mask and holding a "offering" badge, Zhao Duan left the palace unhindered.

Go straight to Zhao’s house.

Instead of going through the front door, he climbed over the wall into the backyard, acting sneaky.

"Wang Wang-"

When he reached the inner courtyard, he suddenly heard a dog barking from the corridor. A Pekingese dog, which he could easily kill with one punch, stood on the ground with its four short legs, arched its back and barked its teeth, barking at him vigilantly.

"Steamed bun?"

Zhao Duan smiled, walked over, bent down, picked up the curled-up puppy, rubbed it violently, and laughed loudly:

"Why are you so cowardly? You're just relying on me to guard the house."

Suddenly, a pretty girl wearing an embroidered jacket, with her hair loose behind her head, and eyes as clear as autumn water, rushed over when she heard the voice.

Seeing a strange man holding his pet dog, he was startled, put his slender arms in a defensive posture, and was about to shout for help.

But Zhao Duan took off his mask:

"Shh—keep your voice down. Don't let anyone know."

Zhao Pan was struck by lightning, his eyes widened, looking at the familiar face, he subconsciously covered his mouth, surprise in his eyes:

"Brother? You're back?"

……

Russian qing.

In the inner hall in the afternoon.

After sending the servants away, Eugene Hua and Zhao Pan happily brought a fruit plate and brewed tea, as if it were New Year's Day. They chattered and asked Dalang, who was playing with the dog at the table.

The mother and daughter had never expected that Zhao Duan, who was supposed to be on the front line, would return quietly.

It was autumn now, and the beautiful stepmother was still wearing her favorite dark green dress, but with an exquisite embroidered jacket on the outside. Her hair was tied up in a bun, setting off her fair and plump cheeks, and her neckline was tight, with full curves.

When she spoke happily, the hairpins in her hair swayed, dazzling the eyes. Beside her, Zhao Pan, who looked more and more like a grown-up girl, also had more and more temperament of a lady from a wealthy family. She was no longer as fierce as she used to be when she was holding a dagger and learning martial arts.

Now she looks somewhat elegant and sweet, but her lively eyes and pointed oval face reveal a bit of cat-like wildness.

"I am returning to the capital secretly with the help of some magic. My identity must be kept secret, and I cannot stay at home for a long time. I am also going out as a 'palace attendant'."

Zhao Duan picked up the blue and white covered bowl, took a sip, and found that the substitute was indeed powerful, almost the same as the real person. He asked his family to help keep the secret.

The mother and daughter nodded quickly to show their understanding.

Eugene Hua said with some anticipation: "Then we can always have a meal at home, right?"

Zhao Pan also said pitifully: "If it really doesn't work, you can talk."

Zhao Duan met the eager eyes of the mother and daughter, and his heart softened. He said:
"No need to eat for now, but it would be nice to talk."

The mother and daughter were a little disappointed, but they became happy again when they thought that Dalang would live in Beijing for the next period of time.

Zhao Duan simply shared with them what he had seen and done on the front line.

The mother and daughter listened attentively, even though Zhao Duan had deliberately skipped the thrilling parts and only talked about the interesting parts.

But they could still hear from the lines how thrilling it was for Zhao Duan to suppress the rebellion.

I can't help but feel worried and proud at the same time.

"Da Lang, you are capable of great things. All I can do is protect this family." Eugene Hua said softly.

Zhao Pan hurriedly played the role of a close-fitting little cotton-padded jacket, took her mother's hand with her fair hand, and said with a smile:
"Then I will protect my mother."

The autumn sun shone through the crack in the door and fell on the table like a straight, burning golden line.

It illuminates the brilliant autumn chrysanthemums in the vase on the table in the house.

Zhao Duan felt inexplicably warm in his heart and asked with a smile:

"During the time I was away, has anything major happened in the capital? By the way, are there any rumors related to me?"

The beautiful stepmother hesitated and said:
"There aren't many major events. If there are, they are confidential matters of the court, which women like us don't know. As for the one related to Dalang..."

Zhao Pan said quickly, "I know that the scholars in the Imperial College have been praising you recently."

Zhao Duan was curious: "Oh? Flattery?"

The girl said "yes" heavily and said:
"Since my elder brother returned victorious from suppressing the rebellion in Qingzhou, I don't know when, people began to compare my elder brother with Privy Councilor Xue.

However, there were not many at that time. But after the news that my eldest brother defeated Su Dan in Taicang Prefecture and prevented the city from being burned down spread back to the capital, rumors began to increase.

Many scholars say that Xue Shence is not as good as you, big brother. Whether leading troops to fight or saving the people and the country, he is far inferior to you. "

Zhao Duan frowned.

Eugene Hua also spoke:

"The scholars in the Imperial College are still arguing about which of the two, the western front led by you, Dalang, or the eastern front led by Xue Shumi, will defeat the rebels first and recapture the lost territory.

This matter has been a hot topic in the streets recently. It is said that the officials in the Privy Council were very unhappy after hearing about it, and some people in the Ministry of War also said some strange things. "

"Praising me for being better than Xue Shence? Proclaiming a debate, between me and Xue Shence, who will conquer Huaishui first?"

Zhao Duan sneered, a hint of evil flashed across his brows:

"What a flattering move."

He finally understood what the empress meant when she asked him to pay attention to the rumors.

That's right.

With his current status and military achievements, no one in the capital city doubts his ability anymore.

But on the contrary, it started to overpraise.

Zhao Du'an had always been at odds with the scholars in the literary world. This feud started when he entered the imperial prison and arrested scholars on a large scale, and it has since deepened.

Last year, when he debated with Mr. Zhengyang, he proposed the "New Learning of Heart", which was recognized and praised by a group of scholars including Master Dong.

But at the same time, it also made a large number of scholars who believed in "old learning" increasingly unhappy.

However, Zhao Duan was always busy with state affairs afterwards and was too lazy to bother with a group of insignificant scholars. Unexpectedly, this group of scholars now turned around and praised him to death.

"They dare not criticize me, but instead praise me... They set me up and compared me with Xue Shence, so as to make the military officers of the Privy Council dissatisfied with me... Haha, they don't have the ability to kill the enemy in battle, but they play internal fights and disgust people with more beautiful means than each other."

Zhao Duan commented with a sneer.

Zhao Pan's eyes lit up, and they shared the same hatred and hatred:

"I also think they are holding back evil. Although it is a compliment, it is annoying. When Big Brother comes back this time, he must teach them a lesson."

Zhao Duan shook his head:

"No hurry. They are just a bunch of useless scholars. There is no need to get angry. But I am more concerned about who is instigating them behind the scenes."

The flattery against him would not be without reason. Zhao Duan suspected that those stupid students from the Imperial College were just tools.

The ones who are really against him might be the "traitors" within the Qingliu Party.

"Many people in the Qingliu Party came from the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College... Most of them are scholars and Qingliu. It would be reasonable if the traitor was secretly instigating it."

"If I can use this public opinion to create a rift between me and Xue Shence, or even make the group of dynasty generals headed by the Privy Council hostile to me, it will be in the best interests of the anti-king."

"However, flies don't bite seamless eggs. There are indeed some people in the Privy Council who want to fight for power. I'm afraid it's true."

Zhao Duan was thinking.

Looking through history books.

In peacetime, the power of civil officials always outweighs that of military officials.

But in times of war, things are reversed.

Now that the Li Party has been destroyed, the Imperial Party is immature, and the Qingliu Party is facing internal troubles... The military officers of the Yu State, headed by the Privy Council and the Ministry of War, have also begun to rise up, trying to gain more say.

"The Qingliu Party, the Imperial Academy, the Privy Council... Very well, I'm fighting in the front, and you're making trouble in the back."

Zhao Duan's eyes turned dangerous, he tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and raised the corners of his mouth:
"Then, come one by one."

……

……

That day, Zhao Duan stayed at home for a long time. After taking some silver, he left home and found an inn to stay in.

Afterwards, his soul returned to Linfeng and received the news from the shadow guard that Feng Xiaolian had successfully delivered the blank letter to Gongsun.

The plan was initially completed. Zhao Duan immediately instructed Song Jinxi to make some follow-up arrangements.

I slept soundly that night.
The aftermath of a disturbance in Yongjia City continued to spread.

However, it will take some time for the message to reach Xu Jingtang and the capital.

……

The next day, early morning.

In the capital city, Zhao Duan walked out of the inn, wearing a white mask and a green gown, and walked along the bustling streets.

Bathed in the autumn morning light.

Arrived at the familiar imperial court.

"who?"

The man guarding the gate tried to stop him and stared at him warily.

Zhao Duan, wearing a white mask, calmly took out the offering plaque and said in a slightly changed voice:

"I have been ordered to come to Lihua Hall to take up my post."

Last night, the empress issued an edict and sent it to the imperial court.

Therefore, after a while, Zhao Duan met Ma Yan in the Governor's Hall.

The eunuch's face remained the same, tall and thin, stern and giving off a sense of cruelty.

Only a year had passed, and perhaps due to overwork, a few strands of Ma Yan's hair had turned white.

He held the offering badge in his hand and examined it carefully. Then he raised his head and looked suspiciously at the "new officer" wearing a white mask that could block divine sense detection. He threw the badge back and nodded.

"The identity is correct. Zhou Cang, send him to Lihua Hall to take up his post."

The captain Zhou Cang next to him responded and made a "please" gesture to Zhao Duan.

Zhao Duan smiled and nodded to Ma Yan, and then nodded to Captain Zhou, who was also an acquaintance:
"Thank you."

When I turned around to leave, I heard Ma Yan's voice behind me:
"Lihuatang is a group of unruly troublemakers. Originally, only Zhao Duan could control this group of people.

Now that he is at the front, the position of the Chief of Investigation of Lihua Hall has been vacant for a long time. Since His Majesty has transferred you to act as the Chief of Investigation this time, I hope you will be prepared for your subordinates to disobey your orders. If that doesn’t work, you can come to me.”

Zhao Duan paused, the corners of his mouth slightly raised under the mask, he turned around and politely bowed to Ma Yan:

"Thank you for your advice, Governor. But... I don't think I'll have to trouble you."

After saying this, he strolled leisurely and headed straight for Lihua Hall.

(End of this chapter)