Chapter 698: Hidden dangers within the southern territory, become king or emperor!

Chapter 698: Hidden dangers within the southern territory, become king or emperor!

Gao Yao's mind quickly flashed through various possible situations, and he almost immediately guessed that this must be the trouble caused by those people of various schools of thought. After all, there are powerful people behind these people who are manipulating everything. The reason why Gao Yao knew this but did not take action was that he actually had his own plans.

He deliberately let these people do whatever they want, just to make them self-righteous and think that their actions can go unnoticed. However, in fact, everything they did could not escape Gao Yao's eyes. As early as the beginning, Gao Yao had arranged for the Qingyi Society to monitor these people around the clock.

Of course, the monitoring Gao Yao mentioned was not limited to monitoring the daily activities of these people. He was more concerned about the messages these people passed on, who they had contact with, and whether they had any abnormal behavior. Once they found any disturbance, the people of Qingyi Society would report it to him immediately.

Xiao He's words also made Gao Yao understand. Gao Yao realized that the other party did not actually need to directly destroy the Southern Territory. Even if they actively helped the Southern Territory to develop, it would also bring considerable adverse effects to him. As long as the people they sincerely helped and developed were on the side of Gongzi Gao, or in other words, people who were inclined to Gongzi Gao, that would be enough.

This situation may not seem to be a big deal in the short term, but in fact its impact is extremely far-reaching. Gao Yao couldn't help but sigh that this kind of thing is like boiling a frog in warm water, which makes people fall into trouble without knowing it.

"What's the situation now?" Gao Yao asked directly without any hesitation, his tone revealed a kind of urgency and anxiety. At the same time, he also showed that he roughly understood the deep meaning of it.

"More than a dozen officials in the county city have been involved, and no less than fifty officials outside the county city." Gao Yao was shocked by the other party's answer.

"Hiss..." Gao Yao couldn't help but gasp after hearing this number. He never thought that so many people would be involved without him noticing. This number far exceeded his expectations, and he felt a chill running down his spine.

"Are there any military officers involved?" After thinking for a moment, Gao Yao asked a more critical question.

After hearing Gao Yao's words, Xiao He hesitated for a moment and nodded before speaking, "Yes, there are not many people, and their official positions are not high!"

With a crisp "crack" sound, the teacup that Gao Yao had been holding steadily in his hand suddenly exploded as if it had been cast by magic. The broken pieces of porcelain flew everywhere like flowers scattered by a fairy, and in the blink of an eye, they turned into a pile of fine powder and scattered on the ground.

Gao Yao's face instantly became extremely gloomy. He stared at the pile of porcelain pieces with his eyes wide open, and the anger in his heart erupted like a volcano. On the one hand, he felt annoyed and blamed himself for his poor supervision. After all, the Qingyi Society acted completely according to his instructions and was not at fault. However, he focused too much attention on the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan and completely ignored the fact that the other party might have other means to cause trouble.

On the other hand, Gao Yao was extremely shocked by the number of officials involved in Xiao He's words. He knew very well that the officials Xiao He mentioned were definitely not small characters like ordinary village heads or town heads, but local officials with real governing ability. These officials were at least county magistrates and county lieutenants, and it was impossible for Xiao He to mention just any random person in such a serious manner.

"Prime Minister, calm down!" Xiao He, who was standing by, bowed and said, "Don't rush this matter. If the root cause is not resolved first, similar things will happen again sooner or later."

Seeing Gao Yao's attitude, Xiao He and Li Si immediately prostrated themselves on the ground, fearing that Gao Yao would continue to lose his temper. Then they prepared to take action to relieve these officials. Gao Yao had just cleaned up a group of officials who violated the rules and used connections to enrich themselves, involving both the military and political aspects. If he cleaned up another group of officials now, the impact would be even greater. Cleaning up a group of officials was a wise move by Gao Yao, but frequent cleaning up would be too harsh on his subordinates, and would even seriously affect Gao Yao's credibility.

And it involves the issue of the Hundred Schools Academy. Whether to clean it up or not is also a problem. After all, it was Gao Yao who opened the Hundred Schools Academy. If it is closed directly or the people of the Hundred Schools are slaughtered, Gao Yao himself will be the one who will be embarrassed in the end. And this is only part of the problem.

More importantly, as long as Gongzi Gao is still alive, this problem will continue to snowball and recur. Moreover, as Gao Yao's territory continues to expand, more and more officials will be involved, which will undoubtedly make management more difficult. Therefore, in order to completely solve this problem, we must start from the root, and this root is Gongzi Gao. Only by letting Gongzi Gao die, and dying openly and legitimately, can Gao Yao naturally take over the baton of power.

At this moment, Gao Yao suddenly raised a crucial question: "Is Feng Quji involved?" This question is like a sharp sword, piercing the core of the problem. After all, Feng Quji's situation is quite special, and Gao Yao only trusts him three points. However, it is undeniable that since Li Si appeared, Feng Quji has indeed been very hard-working and has been very active in his work. In addition to his special identity and background, if Feng Quji is really involved, then Gao Yao will have to re-examine how to deal with him.

"After some investigation, we have found no unusual connection between Feng Quji and the Qin Palace, and the number of times Feng Quji went to the Qin Palace has obviously decreased. In addition, we have not found any contact between him and other relevant officials."

Although Feng Quji could be considered Xiao He's political opponent to some extent, Xiao He did not take this opportunity to suppress him. Because Xiao He knew very well that such a thing must not be done. Gao Yao did trust his subordinates very much, but there was a difference between superiors and subordinates between them after all. Moreover, Xiao He knew very well that Gao Yao used quite a lot of means behind his back. If he took advantage of the situation at this time, it would inevitably arouse Gao Yao's vigilance and suspicion.

Xiao He is undoubtedly Gao Yao's most trusted minister. It can be said that as long as Xiao He does not take the initiative to stir up trouble and does things down to earth, then after Gao Yao becomes emperor in the future, Xiao He's position as prime minister will definitely be as stable as Mount Tai, and there is no need to worry at all. In this case, why should Xiao He ask for trouble in such a matter?