Jiuxi

Chapter 385 Chapter 383 [Shu Zi]

Yongjia City.

On both sides of the Imperial Street to the north of the palace were various government offices, six of which were not far from each other. Any slightest sign of trouble would be quickly known to colleagues.

In the structure of the Da Qi court, the Ministry of War has always been a relatively awkward yamen.

The other five ministries have clear and fixed scope of powers and responsibilities, but the Ministry of War must not only accept the jurisdiction of the two prime ministers and Zhongshu, but also carefully handle the relationship with the Privy Council.

It is not easy to be Minister of the Ministry of War. This is the consensus of both the government and the public.

However, the current Shangshu Dinghui is very good at dancing. Relying on the appreciation of the left prime minister and his own family background, he is extremely secure in this position and has basically made no mistakes in the past seven years.

Therefore, even though Li Duan didn't like his temperament, he never thought of replacing him.

In the check-in room, Ding Hui was sitting on the imperial chair, flipping through the official documents on the table, but feeling a little distracted in his heart.

Hou Yu's case is pending, and things are calm in Nanya. Shanyang Hou Luchen, who is responsible for investigating the case, has been living in seclusion these days. This matter seems to be turning into a major event and a minor one, but Ding Hui doesn't think so.

To deal with a ruthless person like Lu Chen who fights on the battlefield, one must not move. Every move must be a fatal move, in order to be effective.

However, his roots are all in the north of the Yangtze River, and the powerful people in the south have nothing to do with him even if they want to.

The subordinate officer took the order and left.

A humble smile appeared on Ding Hui's face, he stepped forward and saluted, "I have met Marquis Lu."

"A bunch of idiots."

Ding Hui looked solemn, stood up and said: "Gather everyone together and welcome us at the door."

"Yes!"

Ding relaxed slightly when he saw this, and his tone became more friendly: "I wonder if Marquis Lu came to the War Department Yamen today to give you any advice?"

This is the only comment Ding would have on them.

Ding Hui couldn't help but shook his head secretly when he thought about the burning of the Lu family's warehouse.

Thinking of this, Ding Hui couldn't help but mutter to himself: "I just wonder who has the guts to do something to Lu Chen..."

After a while, Ding Hui led a group of military officials to the gate and saw the young prince standing with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, followed by dozens of fierce soldiers behind him.

He didn't know about this at first. It wasn't until after the incident that he realized that it was someone's decision. He tried to use this method to remind Lu Chen and make him restrain himself in all aspects.

The subordinate official said with shame: "I don't know."

Before he finished speaking, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside, and then a confidant officer walked into the duty room and said nervously: "Master Shangshu, Shanyang Marquis has arrived with many soldiers, and they are now outside the Yamen."

What's the point of using this method to frighten a snake and make him feel angry?

The night at Mo Yuan's banquet had already proved that Lu Chen would not be insincere to Jiangnan's powerful families, and he didn't even bother to show off, making it clear that he was firmly on the side of the emperor.

Ding Hui's heart tightened, and he frowned and asked, "What is he here for?"

At most, it's just setting fire to it.

From the perspective of the stability of the court, the case should certainly not be a big deal, but Lu Chen's behavior style is difficult to infer using common sense.

Lu Chen replied: "I have met Ding Shangshu."

Lu Chen raised his eyes to look at the crowd behind Ding Hui and asked calmly: "May I ask Chen Xincai if Minister Chen is here?"

A middle-aged man in his forties stood up from behind Ding Hui, cupped his hands and said: "Back to Luhou, my subordinate is Chen Xincai, the right minister of the Ministry of War."

He has a square appearance and elegant temperament. Although his speech adheres to the etiquette of superiority and inferiority, his attitude still seems neither humble nor arrogant.

Lu Chen nodded slightly, and then said something shocking: "Shilang Chen, your matter has come to light, let me go."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

Chen Xincai had an expression of disbelief on his face and frowned: "What does Marquis Lu mean by this? What did the official do?"

Lu Chen said unhurriedly: "Shilang Chen, from the second year of Jianwu to the eighth year of Jianwu, you served as a doctor in the Ministry of War's Military Selection and Cleaning Division. Is this right?"

Chen Xincai suddenly remembered something, his face paled slightly, and he forced himself to say: "This official has indeed had this experience."

Lu Chen continued: "When you were the doctor of the Military Selection Department, you were in charge of the selection, promotion, replacement, and merit rewards of generals in the governor's mansion of each state. Now I have found out that Hou Yu, the Marquis of Nan'an, is in the governor's mansion of Chengzhou. During his tenure, there were twelve war merit reports with problems, and eleven of them were handled by you. In addition, according to the Weaving Department, Hou Yu bribed you seven times with gold, silver, calligraphy, painting, jade and the like, totaling about 100,000 yuan in silver. More than 90,000 taels, this is only the evidence that I currently have, and it cannot be ruled out that there are omitted matters."

Every time he said something, Chen Xincai's expression became more flustered, and eventually his body was trembling slightly.

Lu Chen's eyes finally showed a hint of contempt and disgust, and he waved his hand and said, "Take it!"

"Follow the order!"

Several wolf-like soldiers stepped forward immediately.

There was a moment of commotion in the venue. "Wait!"

Ding Hui stopped in front of Chen Xincai, and then saw Lu Chen's cold eyes.

The Minister of the Ministry of War thought in his heart and said seriously: "Does Marquis Lu have any decree from the Holy One?"

The right minister of the Ministry of War is a high-ranking official of the third rank in purple clothes. The imperial court has a complete set of accountability and punishment procedures. How can he just let Lu Chen be dragged away in the street? If this happens, won't the Ministry of War become a laughing stock in the eyes of other yamen? How will it manage Daqi's military affairs in the future?

Even if Chen Xincai really committed a crime, Lu Chen could not be allowed to use this method to trample the Ministry of War's face under his feet.

Regardless of his personal relationship with Chen Xincai, and regardless of whether he is afraid of the young prince in front of him, Ding Hui must stand up at this moment. This is his responsibility as Minister of War.

After Lu Chen heard this, he raised his left hand and stretched back. Qin Zilong, the commander of the personal soldiers, quickly took out a bright yellow imperial edict and handed it to him respectfully.

Seeing this imperial edict, Ding Hui's expression changed drastically.

This has nothing to do with Lu Chen, but Ding Hui finally realized a serious problem. The emperor is not going to be as roundabout as usual this time, and he will give absolute support to Lu Chen's ideas.

Lu Chen didn't even spread out the imperial edict to read out. He just looked at Ding Hui coldly and said, "Ding Shangshu, do you want to resist the edict?"

Ding Hui showed a hint of bitterness, lowered his head and said, "I don't dare to do this."

Behind him, Chen Xincai had a look of defeat on his face.

"take away."

Lu Chen repeated, and his soldiers immediately stepped forward, simply took Chen Xincai's arms and took the right minister of the Ministry of War away from the gate of the Ministry of War.

Looking at the departing figures of this group of people, the officials of the Ministry of War looked at each other, and many of them actually felt sad.

The dignity of an official is the dignity of the court. Even if Chen Xincai made a mistake, he was still a third-rank minister of the Ministry of War. Now he was dragged away by a group of tiger and wolf soldiers in the Yamen of the Ministry of War, leaving him no face.

You must know that this is above the Royal Street, surrounded by imperial offices, and many people are witnessing this scene at this moment.

"Master Shangshu?" A trusted doctor came to Ding Hui and asked with a worried look on his face.

Ding Hui's face was ashen and he said slowly: "You don't have to worry about Minister Chen. I will go to the palace later to see your Majesty to intercede for him. Marquis Shanyang's actions are ruthless and will be harmful to the court in the long run. I will definitely give him direct advice." ! Everyone, please do your own thing first and don’t talk about this matter to anyone else.”

All the officials responded one after another.

Ding Hui turned to look in the direction Lu Chen left, his eyes still gloomy, but there was not much anger in his heart, but a strange excitement.

He thought silently in his heart: It seems that things are indeed as Brother Li said. His Majesty can't wait to take back his authority, so let's let the fire burn brighter and see who will get angry in the end!
……

Privy Council.

General Wang Yan hurried into the festival hall and asked directly: "Where is Lu Chen?"

Privy Councilor Guo Congyi sat with a calm expression, holding a tea cup in his right hand, which contained Thousand Island jade leaves this spring. The fresh and fragrant tea fragrance was refreshing.

He blew the tea leaves leisurely, took a sip, and then smiled and said: "Already gone."

Wang Yan frowned and said, "Leaving?"

Guo Congyi nodded slightly and added: "He also took away Yu Shouwen, the general secretary under me, saying that he helped Hou Yu cover up traces and destroy evidence in the past few years, so he was implicated in this case. I did not stop him. , did not ask him for relevant evidence, and directly asked him to take Yu Shouwen away."

Wang Yan couldn't help but look at him blankly after hearing this.

Guo Congyi continued: "Lu Chen has gained a lot today. Not only did he take away Yu Shouwen from his own office, but he also took away Chen Xincai, the right minister of the Ministry of War, Wei Jixiang, the director of the inspection department of the Ministry of Personnel, Qiao Wendian, the director of the Materials and Appraisal Office of the Ministry of Industry, and the Governor of Chengzhou. Wang Ping, the previous commander-in-chief, Chen Zhixun, the previous commander-in-chief of the march, etc. I estimate that if the right minister and others had not stopped him, he might have also arrested the former governor of Chengzhou, Mr. Ning Laohou, who is now idle at home."

At this point, he couldn't help but laugh.

Wang Yan slammed the table and said, "How dare you!"

Guo Congyi looked up at him and said gently: "General, it's time to change your bad temper."

Wang Yanhan said in a cold voice: "Your Excellency, you still have time to joke? Lu Chen relied on the name of the imperial envoy to get involved, and arrested so many powerful officials at once, making people in the capital panic and everyone in danger. The Daqi court has been stable and peaceful for more than ten years. The atmosphere will be ruined! If we let him continue to act recklessly, we will be in chaos before the enemies from the north come over!"

"Don't be impatient, just sit down."

Guo Congyi raised his hand and said with a smile: "Actually, this is not a bad thing."

Although Wang Yan was furious, he did not lose his judgment on the court situation, and he soon understood the origin of Guo Congyi's peaceful attitude.

He stepped forward and sat down opposite Guo Congyi, and said in a deep voice: "I know what the Privy Council thinks. Lu Chen's doing this will definitely arouse public anger. But now that he has the full support of His Majesty, and the help of the hawks and dogs of the Sutra Weaving Department, we are waiting for this It would be too passive to go down.”

Guo Congyi picked up the tea cup and said calmly: "This is good, at least it can allow some wavering people to see the situation clearly and let them know that His Majesty has made up his mind. If you back down this time, you will be in a doomed situation. Therefore, tomorrow's meeting will be held I can see the difference.”

"We will meet tomorrow..."

Wang Yan repeated these words, with a cold and stern light in his eyes: "Well, it's time for Your Majesty to understand who is supporting the vast territory of Da Qi."

(End of this chapter)