Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

"Is Lin Mu doing this because he is afraid of being liquidated?" Zhao Zhong stood up and asked quietly.

"Well. With the favor of the late emperor, he has already reached the highest position in the country. This move is to take sides. According to my guess, he is not standing with us, but with Your Majesty!" Zhang Rang said meaningfully.

"Oh... he wants to regain the favor of His Majesty... hehe..." Zhao Zhong smiled meaningfully.

"Ziye, send a message to Lin Mu later, and tell him that if the court is stable and peaceful, he can be made a marquis!!" Zhang Rang thought for a moment, turned his head and instructed Zhao Ying.

"My lord, this..." Zhao Ying was shocked when he heard this and stammered.

A marquis is a title with fiefdom, equivalent to a lower-level king, and has real power and fiefdom.

Marquises have actual fiefs, which are usually based on counties, and are also called [County Marquises]. However, this is fundamentally different from the County Marquises that Lin Mu had before. The latter has no fiefs, but only a number of households. Reputation and the Red Dragon Chapter are obtained based on the specific number of households, and they also have the right to tax.

Because of the decline and corruption, Lin Mu never received the Red Dragon Chapter after he became an official and had a title.

There is another difference. The marquises have the power to appoint and dismiss officials within their fiefdoms and can inherit the title.

Currently, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and others are marquises.

Below the emperor, there is the title of prince, but the title of prince cannot be conferred to anyone other than the Liu family. It can be said that the title of marquis is the ceiling of the title in the Han Dynasty.

In their opinion, this is definitely attractive to Lin Mu.

"It's okay, just tell him directly. He doesn't like being an official in the court and prefers to work outside. Considering his achievements, it can be considered a perfect deed." Zhang Rang said lightly.

"Yes!" Zhao Ying's face hardened, he bowed respectfully, and then left. He turned around, and a bright light appeared in the depths of his eyes.

The title of Marquis is the highest admiration among many powerful ministers.

However, what Zhang Rang called a stable and peaceful court was not so easy to achieve.

The meaning of these words coming out of his mouth was very clear, that is, the Ten Eunuchs were in power, and Empress Dowager He, He Jin and others had to obey. Moreover, there was another hidden meaning, that is, Lin Mu had to hand over the military power, just as the premise for He Jin and others to obey was also to hand over the military power.

"You see, Lin Mu has returned to our team just as I expected." After Zhao Ying left, Zhang Rang also stood up and smiled.

"Yes, our previous strategy was wrong. It is better to pressure people with power than to pressure people with authority or favor." Zhao Zhong sighed.

"The one who deposed Lin Mu and took charge of the National Defense Army is most likely He Jin's faction, which is not in our favor."

“Why not just let Lin Mu take control and let him think he is the fourth party that is free and independent…” Zhang Rang said with his eyes slightly narrowed.

"How should we deal with Gongsun Zan? Lin Mu didn't mention anything in his letter this time. Do we want to cut him off?" Zhao Zhong thought for a moment and asked again.

"What a pity! I thought Lin Mu would write to Gongsun Zan to plead for mercy."

"Since he doesn't care, let's not touch him for now. Anyway, we control most of the troops of the eight commanders of Xiyuan... If there is any change, we can just capture him and replace him." Zhang Rang said confidently.

"There has been a lot of chaos in Sili recently. There may be foreign troops coming in." Zhao Zhong said in a serious tone.

"Are you sure?" Zhang Rang's face darkened slightly when he heard that.

"It's almost certain." Zhao Zhong sighed.

"Hmph, don't be afraid. As long as we keep the military power under our control, the Divine Capital is so strong that we can handle more foreign troops. At that time, we can use this opportunity to completely clip their wings!" Zhang Rang snorted coldly.

With the military forces they currently control, they are not afraid of the threat from foreign troops at all.

"We can give Empress Dowager He a hint to make her cautious. When He Jin makes plans with her, she might be afraid and not dare to act rashly." A gleam of wisdom flashed in Zhang Rang's eyes.

"Okay." Zhao Zhong's face showed a hint of joy. Zhang Rang's plan and layout were even better than his.

Then, the two left the hall and rushed to Yongle Palace.

At present, the person who controls the power in the entire court is Liu Bian, and the operator is Empress Dowager He. However, she also needs to listen to the opinions of Zhang Rang, He Jin and others. Occasionally, she also needs to listen to the opinions of Empress Dowager Dong...

However, as time went on, Empress Dowager He's desire for control grew stronger and stronger, and she gradually became less willing to listen to the opinions of Zhang Rang, He Jin and others.

Among them, the opinion of Empress Dowager Dong was even more perfunctory. This touched upon her interests. Empress Dowager Dong was not a sick cat, and she would also show her power. In particular, the imperial edict in her hands also had a certain power and authority, which could restrict Empress Dowager He.

Zhang Rang and others took advantage of this to escalate the conflict between the two sides.

This meeting in Yongle Palace was planned by them.

In the grand hall with carved dragons and painted buildings, a faint mist lingered, and a strange fragrance filled the air. In the hall, on a phoenix chair, sat a middle-aged woman with an elegant appearance.

This person was none other than Liu Hong's mother, Empress Dowager Dong.

Although she is over fifty years old, she still has her charm. The traces of time seem to have left no trace on her face. If you look closely, there is not even a single wrinkle.

Next to her on the left sat Liu Bian. Below her was Empress Dowager He. On her right sat the short-legged Liu Xie.

At this moment, Empress Dowager He had a slightly gloomy expression on her face, and she glanced at the phoenix chair out of the corner of her eye.

This phoenix chair was the queen's phoenix chair, but because Liu Bian's queen was still very young at that time, she did not inherit it.

Before, it belonged to Empress Dowager He, but now, Empress Dowager Dong has claimed it for herself and even ordered people to move it from her palace to Yongle Palace. This is simply too much!

Demonstration, this is a naked warning of demonstration.

Glancing again at Empress Dowager Dong, who was holding Liu Bian and Liu Xie's hands and asking about their well-being, Empress Dowager He took a deep breath and a hint of hatred appeared in her eyes, but she did not express her emotion.

However, Empress Dowager Dong had already seen Empress Dowager He's expression, and snorted in her heart: "You are He Jin's sister, and you were originally a noble concubine. At the beginning, I promoted you and made you the queen, the mother of the country. Now you repay me like that, how can I let you run rampant."

As if sensing the gaze of Empress Dowager Dong, Empress Dowager He slowly raised her head and looked straight into her eyes, not losing an inch in momentum.

"Da da!!!" Just then, a group of people filed in after the announcement.

Three groups of people lined up and walked in slowly.

The camp of foreign relatives was headed by He Jin, followed by Dong Zhong, He Miao and others.

In the middle is the eunuch camp, led by Zhang Rang, followed by Zhao Zhong and others.

On the other side, the leader was the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, followed by Liu Yao and other clan leaders.

After several parties came in, they all found seats and sat down.

The small tables at the seats were filled with exquisite food and wine bottles, and many palace maids were on standby next to them.

Today's meeting is more of a banquet than a conference. The host is the late emperor's mother, Empress Dowager Dong.

In fact, with Emperor Liu Bian around, he should be the protagonist, but Empress Dowager Dong has taken over the limelight, which seems to indicate that something is going to happen.

Zhang Rang, Yuan Wei and others seemed to have realized this. As for He Jin, He Miao and others, their brows were slightly frowned. They felt that the atmosphere was not right, but they had no idea what was wrong. They were indeed not suitable for using their brains.

As the nephew of Empress Dowager Dong, Dong Zhong raised his head slightly at this moment, with an air of pride and complacency permeating him.

The Zongzheng, that is, Liu Yao and Liu Dai of the royal Liu family, seemed to know what was going to happen as they watched people from all angles.

Seeing the relatives of the emperor acting like this, Yuan Wei shook his head imperceptibly.

"Everyone is here. Yongle Palace hasn't been this lively for some time." Empress Dowager Dong said calmly.

"Thank you for the Empress Dowager's invitation. We are unworthy of it." Everyone responded.

"Today, I am inviting everyone to a banquet, both to thank you for your hard work and dedication to the court, and to thank you for your contributions to stabilizing the court." Empress Dowager Dong said softly.

"My dear ministers, the late emperor passed away suddenly, and the court was in chaos and the people were in panic. However, with everyone's efforts, the court has been initially settled, but people's hearts are a little restless. Some people are restless and want to fight for rights that do not belong to them. This is not good, do you understand? Zhang Rang!" Empress Dowager Dong said while looking at Zhang Rang, but the person she was referring to was obviously someone else.

This is a direct criticism of Sang Kui, and the hatred in someone's heart grew even stronger!

"Your humble servant is terrified!" Zhang Rang stood up in a panic, quickly walked to the middle of the hall and knelt on the ground.

Seeing Zhang Rang's performance, Empress Dowager Dong was overjoyed. In addition to scolding Empress Dowager He, she also pointed out that Zhang Rang and other eunuchs had not come to "serve" her for a long time!

In the past, whether it was paying tribute or asking about the well-being of the Empress Dowager, they had never stopped. But after Empress Dowager He came to power, they stopped. How could she not know the ins and outs of it?

"The Han Dynasty was founded on filial piety. Today's court is still filled with a dark and corrupt atmosphere. The people of the Thirteen States are in dire straits. The heaven and earth are blinded and the emperor's ears are hard to hear. For the sake of the longevity of the Han Dynasty, I am willing to devote myself to the stability of the world until my death."

"The previous recorders of the Shangshu affairs were Grand Tutor Yuan Wei and General He Jin. However, Bian'er is young and unfamiliar with state strategies and court officials, so it is difficult to appoint and dismiss them. Grand Tutor is responsible for teaching Your Majesty, and General is responsible for military peace in the country. They both work hard and tirelessly. I sympathize with the contributions of the two old ministers, so I will enter the palace to take over the responsibility of recording the Shangshu affairs. I will be in charge, and General Huoqi will assist me."

Empress Dowager Dong looked around with a determined look and spoke slowly in a deep voice.

Upon hearing these words, the first person to become furious was not Empress Dowager He, but He Jin.

This is directly cutting off the source of his power. How can he not be angry!

"You old witch, how dare you get involved in the affairs of the Shangshu? Where do you put the ancestral rules of the Han Dynasty?!" He Jin was furious and cursed directly.

"How dare you!!!" Empress Dowager Dong was also furious when she heard this. How dare she call her an old witch! (End of this chapter)