Ouchi Taming the Cat, starting with the Ten Tiger Forms!

Chapter 653 Snake Shadow
"Your Majesty!"

The civil servants looked at King Zheng anxiously.

They all knew that there must be something fishy going on, but the current situation was unfavorable and they had no reasonable way to escape. They felt a little helpless for a moment and couldn't help but look for the backbone for advice.

King Zheng just shook his head slightly and said:
"It's not convenient to talk here, let's go to the post house first."

They had been here for a long time, but the moment Emperor Yongyuan came on stage, there was such a fierce drama that it was really hard for them to bear.

Gao Yangang, the magistrate of Caiyun County, actually dared to accuse King Zheng and even said that he had evidence of his guilt.

As a small county magistrate, it was impossible for him to overthrow King Zheng, but it was enough to cause damage to King Zheng's prestige.

I don't know what has driven Gao Yangang crazy. He speaks so bluntly. I'm afraid he wouldn't do such a thing even if he had the courage of a bear or a leopard.

After returning to the inn, King Zheng summoned the senior officials to the room again.

During this southern tour, almost all the heads of the six ministries came, either the Shangshu himself or the vice minister accompanying him.

In the Daxing officialdom, almost half of the high-ranking officials who held real power had come.

The rest were needed to maintain the operation of the court, so they had to stay in the capital.

It seems that the entourage for this southern tour was also carefully selected by Emperor Yongyuan, and he must have his reasons.

Just like yesterday, Li Xuan caught up with King Zheng and others early and was already lying on the roof of the inn licking his paws.

Fortunately, he had the foresight to reverse his biological clock for a day, and now he is very energetic.

"Your Highness, Gao Yanang is not in the right state. Even if he is too frightened, he shouldn't be so stupid. Is there something wrong?"

The voice seemed strange and Li Xuan couldn't tell who it was.

This was only the second day of his southern tour, and he still hadn't recognized many people because there were simply too many officials accompanying him.

Emperor Yongyuan brought so many officials with him this time. Although nominally they were honored to accompany him on his tour of the country, more importantly, they were transferred away from the capital to prevent any trouble from happening during Emperor Yongyuan's absence.

The person in charge of the capital now is the new Minister of the Central Secretariat who was appointed by Emperor Yongyuan himself.

Li Xuan didn't know much about this new Minister of the Secretariat. He only knew that he came from a poor family and was not very old.

Although he was promoted to the position of Zhongshu Ling, he still had no power over his subordinates and was often targeted in official circles.

It is unknown whether he can bring some surprises to Emperor Yongyuan during this southern tour.

As soon as Li Xuan was distracted, he heard the voice of King Zheng coming from under his butt.

"They received the wrong letter and it appears they were misled."

"One wrong step, all wrong."

King Zheng's voice sounded a little tired.

He had a headache for two days during his two-day tour of the south.

Holding small meetings with the civil servants every day, if this continues, it will be difficult for King Zheng not to be exhausted during this southern tour.

Everyone present was very clear at this time that the preparations made by Emperor Yongyuan for this southern tour far exceeded their imagination.

Last night, the Ministry of Internal Affairs captured an assassin near the post house and left dead bodies on the ground in front of the door.

Although the civil servants did not say anything, they knew what was going on.

However, this was a private rivalry between Emperor Yongyuan and Prince Zheng, and they couldn't get involved so they could only pretend they didn't know.

But now the situation has become increasingly serious, and Emperor Yongyuan is determined to clean up the corrupt officials along the way.

They have controlled the government for so many years. Don't they know the character of the officials now?
If they continue like this, sooner or later the fire will burn their own heads.

By the time……

Just as they shouted "annihilate the three clans" and "death by slow slicing", they will be shouted back in the same way.

Come out and mix, always have to pay back.

Of course, they are the ones who have climbed to the top of officialdom. If it were their turn, the world of Daxing would have changed.

This kind of thing is not something they can stop just because they want to.

The senior officials present had different thoughts, but they all glanced at King Zheng tacitly.

Whether the situation will change or not depends on this person.

King Zheng sighed and told them the truth:

"It seems that my messenger was not spared last night, so he was taken advantage of."

"But you don't have to worry too much about Gao Yanang's affairs."

"He was just a county magistrate. If he dies, he dies."

“People always have to take responsibility for their mistakes.”

When saying this, King Zheng's eyes were calm, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

"Then tomorrow..." someone asked.

"Let Gao Yanang bite as much as he wants. He will always go crazy before he dies. But who can he bite with his teeth?"

King Zheng spoke in a calm tone, as if he was stating a very common fact.

The person Gao Yanang bit was King Zheng, and this had the greatest impact on him.

The civil servants were so anxious just now, and they also took the opportunity to express their attitude.

They can tolerate mistakes, but they can never tolerate betrayal.

Gao Yanang might not have had to die at the beginning, but he is definitely going to die now.

Even if Emperor Yongyuan could spare him, the civil officials would not allow him to continue living.

"Since the prince has already made up his mind, we can rest assured."

Since King Zheng, the person involved, has said so much, it is not appropriate for others to ask more questions.

After all, Gao Yangang wasn't biting them.

And with so many of them, no one could be the one to fall except King Zheng.

They were not afraid that Gao Yangang would do something to King Zheng, but they were afraid that if the matter was not handled properly, it would give others opportunities to take action.

If Emperor Yongyuan spares Gao Yangang's life tomorrow based on his performance, then combined with the previous case in Jinghou County, wouldn't everyone else follow suit?

Gao Yangang was confused and tried to bite King Zheng, a golden Buddha that he couldn't bite.

But what if someone learns this and starts biting other clay sculptures or wood carvings?
By then, Emperor Yongyuan, who already disliked them, would be able to legitimately prevent them from ever returning to the capital.

These officials are more shrewd than each other. They figured this out instantly in the county government office just now, which is why they were so excited.

Now that King Zheng had given his guarantee, they stopped asking further questions.

After all, if tomorrow's affairs are not handled well, King Zheng will suffer the greatest loss.

The more solid a group is, the less it can withstand the volatility of people's hearts.

The officials in Prince Zheng's room soon dispersed, and Prince Zheng went to bed early to rest with the help of his attendants.

Although he had only been out for two days, King Zheng was already exhausted.

The posthouse became quiet in the first half of the night, with only a few officials who had not yet gone to bed discussing the day's events.

But the content is irrelevant, it's just some gossip.

Li Xuan sensed his surroundings and found that the inn was quite deserted tonight.

"Didn't you send any more secret guards over?"

Li Xuan found that there was no one around the inn, and he couldn't help but look at the room below, with a thoughtful look.

But he soon shook his head and gave up the impulsive plan that had just emerged.

"It's impossible that there is no backup plan, and it's not good to just kill him like this."

Li Xuan had to admit that he had just thought about taking direct action and killing King Zheng to put an end to the crisis of internal division in Daxing.

Not to mention whether King Zheng has any means to save his life, even if he could really kill King Zheng on the spot, this crisis would probably not be eliminated so easily.

King Zheng's followers, especially his diehard fans, will never give up.

Anyway, they have been preparing for many years, and they can continue to rebel by raising the banner of revenge for King Zheng.

Moreover, Emperor Yongyuan also had a bad reputation. When the time came, all the chaos in the world could be attributed to his incompetence and tyranny, which gave these rebels a reason to raise the banner of rebellion.

Unless they had no other choice, both Emperor Yongyuan and Prince Zheng wanted to gain a "legitimate" reputation for themselves.

Li Xuan sighed, feeling that these things were really too troublesome.

"If I were invincible, I wouldn't have to worry so much."

Li Xuan could only comfort himself in this way. There were too many things to consider, so he had to make such careful calculations.

Li Xuan stayed at the posthouse for another half an hour. Seeing that there seemed to be nothing to do tonight, he left and went back to report the situation.

This was also the code of conduct that had been agreed upon long ago, and Li Xuan was just acting according to the plan.

When Li Xuan returned to the county government office, he saw that Xu Lang was on duty, so he went to greet him first.

"Meow."

"Master Xuan."

Xu Lang replied in a low voice.

He made a gesture to his eunuch in flowery clothes, and then went to a secluded corner with Li Xuan.

At this time, everyone in the county government office was resting, so it was not appropriate for them to talk outside the door.

"Oh, by the way, I forgot how we caught those people just now."

"Where is Manager Shang? Is he back?"

Li Xuan had gone directly to follow Prince Zheng and others and did not have time to ask Xu Lang about these details.

Hearing Li Xuan's voice transmission, Xu Lang smiled slightly and said:

"Master Xuan, you don't know."

"Those fugitives were trapped in a small courtyard by the magic of the old butler Shang. They were all riding on the small wooden horses that children play with, rocking them so vigorously that they did not stop even when they were exhausted. The brothers were dumbfounded by the sight."

When Xu Lang thought of the situation at that time, he couldn't help but smile.

"We got the news from the chief steward and went to the place to arrest the person."

"After Chief Steward Shang handed the man over to us, the illusion was lifted. Afterwards, he looked like he did in the county government office."

"I didn't expect Gao Yanang to be so confused that he dared to bite out King Zheng."

Xu Lang said this while shaking his head slightly, knowing that this person was probably in great danger.

But for them, this is a great thing.

"Have you got the evidence of his crime?"

Li Xuan was still more concerned about this matter.

"The so-called evidence Gao Yangang mentioned was nothing more than a few letters and some rewards from King Zheng."

"It would be hard to get King Zheng to apologize based on these things alone, but the steward has already made up his mind and ordered others to take charge."

When Li Xuan heard this, his eyes widened.

But then he immediately accepted the reality.

"After all, they are professionals, so they move quickly."

It was as easy for Zhao Feng to forge some evidence as eating and drinking.

Li Xuan had seen this before.

However, the degree needs to be struck well, making King Zheng suffer losses without forcing him into a dead end.

Now we should focus on weakening.

Zhao Feng would naturally understand this kind of thing.

Otherwise, Li Xuan believed that Zhao Feng had the ability to make a suitable new dragon robe for King Zheng overnight.

Li Xuan nodded. He felt relieved to leave these matters to professionals like Zhao Feng.

"By the way, where are those people being held? Are there enough guards?"

Li Xuan couldn't sleep tonight, so he planned to find something to do after reporting the situation.

"Don't worry, Master Xuan. His Majesty has arranged for the Imperial Palace experts to personally guard the place."

The palace masters that Xu Lang mentioned were not from the same system as their Imperial Household Department. They were another force controlled by Emperor Yongyuan.

Even though Emperor Yongyuan trusted the Imperial Household Department, he still needed to manage the forces at hand separately, in order to prevent Prince Zheng from finding out their details.

People like Li Jingmen and Wang Xi, the eunuch in charge of lighting for Emperor Yongyuan, are among them.

It seems that Li Xuan is not needed to guard the prisoners.

Li Xuan wanted to continue asking, but Xu Lang answered first:

"After Chief Steward Shang handed the man over to us, he should have come back to report, but I haven't seen him in the county government office."

Li Xuan nodded, asked no more questions, and went into the house to report the situation to Emperor Yongyuan.

Emperor Yongyuan had not slept yet, and Li Xuan conveyed word for word what King Zheng and others had discussed at the post station.

"It seems that they are planning to keep things quiet."

After hearing this, Emperor Yongyuan couldn't help but smile.

Their offensive went very smoothly in the past two days, forcing Prince Zheng to retreat step by step. Even Emperor Yongyuan couldn't help feeling proud.

How suffocated he had felt in the capital before, how happy he felt these days, and he finally found some confidence to be the emperor.

Otherwise, he would really think that the emperor's life was such a cowardly one.

Seeing that Emperor Yongyuan had not given him any further arrangements, Li Xuan could not help but ask:
"My schedule is all upside down. I can't sleep at night. What should I do next?"

Emperor Yongyuan smiled and replied, "I think you have nothing to do tonight. If you can't sleep, go and accompany Elder Shang."

"He is accompanying Zhao Feng to investigate the residences of Caiyun County officials. Go and see if you can help."

Hearing that Shang Zongguan and Zhao Feng were together, Li Xuan also wanted to join in the fun.

He really wanted to see what Zhao Feng could do.

Li Xuan was about to say goodbye to Emperor Yongyuan and leave when he suddenly heard a noise outside the window.

boom--

The sound of fireworks exploding came from outside the window, and Li Xuan and Emperor Yongyuan's faces changed immediately.

They hurried out of the room and saw the fireworks dimming in the sky.

This is an emergency signal from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Li Xuan looked at the direction, which was not the direction of the post station, but the residential area of ​​Caiyun County.

He remembered what Emperor Yongyuan had just said, and did not dare to delay any longer. He left a word and disappeared.

"I'll go check it out, meow!"

"Ah Xuan, be careful!"

Emperor Yongyuan gave a hurried instruction, but Li Xuan was nowhere to be seen.

"Tang Nu, you go over there too."

As soon as Emperor Yongyuan finished speaking, a voice responded:
"Yes, Your Majesty."

At this time, Wang Xi came to Emperor Yongyuan from nowhere and persuaded him:
"Your Majesty, it's a chilly night. Let's go inside and wait."

Emperor Yongyuan knew that Wang Xi was worried about his safety, so he nodded and turned back to the house.

Wang Xi followed closely and closed the door tightly.

At the same time, King Zheng's attendants in the inn also noticed the movement in the city.

"Your Majesty, there is movement in the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

The attendant came to King Zheng's window and spoke softly.

King Zheng didn't even open his eyes, he just turned over and said nonchalantly:
"sleep."

……

Li Xuan rushed to the location where the signal was sent in the blink of an eye, only to see that the place was in chaos.

The chief monk Zhao Feng was fighting with two teams of eunuchs in flowery clothes.

The ones fighting against them were not top masters, but long and thin shadows rolling all over the ground. At first glance, it looked like a cluster of thousands of poisonous snakes.

The dark snake shadows surged towards the flowery eunuchs like a wave. No matter how many they cut off, more would come. They could only be forced to retreat continuously, in danger.

Anyone who is touched by the snake's shadow will suffer from hissing sounds on their clothes and skin, and will emit bursts of white smoke, which is obviously extremely dangerous.

Li Xuan looked at the snake shadow intently and couldn't help but frowning.

"What is this?"

(End of this chapter)