Jiuxi

Chapter 392 Chapter 390 [Xuyu enters Jiangnan with a sword]

The dust of Hou Yu's case was settled, and Emperor Zhu Pi exiled him to Guining Mansion in Taiping Prefecture in the southwest border.

It is located in the deep mountains and dense forests, at the junction of Daqi and Nanzhao. It is said that the miasma is densely populated by poisonous insects, and even walking on the road will be extremely risky.

Because of the intercession of Li Daoyan and more than half of the courtiers, the emperor did not execute Hou Yu in the end, but the choice of this place of exile was enough to show the anger in his heart.

The Hou family's property in the capital is being counted. The Sutra Weaving Department, the Ministry of Punishment, the Dali Temple and the Yushitai are jointly investigating. Lu Chen has also sent more than ten experienced subordinates to supervise the whole process to ensure that the gold and silver treasures will not be enriched by others.

After all procedures are completed, Hou Yu will embark on the journey of exile alone, with only a few servants accompanying him.

The only merciful thing about the emperor is that he did not use this incident to liquidate the entire Dehua Hou family. However, it is foreseeable that the Hou family will have no hope of setting foot in the Daqi court again in the next few decades.

The restructuring of the Nanya Office of the Beijing Army was in progress. The policy of replacing middle and lower-level generals proposed by Lu Chen had been successfully implemented. Fifteen captains and school captains of the Beijing Army were transferred to the border areas. At the same time, the Jingzhou Governor's Office and Huaizhou Governor's Office were transferred to the border areas. The Dudu Mansion also selected fifteen generals to be sent to the capital.

The emperor's control over the court reached its peak in fourteen years.

There is not much discussion about this in the public. After all, this is the intrigue among the top echelons of Daqi. To ordinary people, it seems like looking at flowers in the fog, and they cannot understand the twists and turns. Perhaps they are more interested in the jealousy of the powerful. Or the romance of a brothel courtesan.

Ding saw this and said, "Everyone, we can't just do nothing, right? If this continues, I'm afraid everyone will have to pack up and go back to their hometowns."

Ning Yuanfu looked at Li Shizhi, frowned and said, "So what do you think?"

Li Shizhi said calmly: "In my opinion, we need to do three things well at the moment."

Li Shizhi observed their expressions and said: "But I would like to advise you, your majesty's doing this does not mean it is over. His fist is not afraid of us, but he is accumulating strength to send a more powerful blow. Believe me, your majesty. When we attack again, we will definitely not target Hou Yu alone like this time, and there will definitely be a storm in the court."

Every middle-aged man at the banquet was a prominent figure in the capital, including Ning Yuanfu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, Ding Hui, the Minister of War, Le Qinyi, the Minister of Household Affairs, and other high-ranking officials.

His tone was very determined, and his words also made other people's eyes light up.

Even if the emperor could find successors to the central officials, he would never be able to incarnate thousands of people into one person to govern the vast area of ​​the thirteen states in the south of the Yangtze River. It is obviously an unrealistic fantasy to find enough officials to replace all the officials in a short period of time.

But for the Jiangnan family, this summer wind has a hint of the chill of the twelfth lunar month in winter.

Ning Yuanfu looked at Li Shizhi, the minister of punishment, who was sitting in the main seat, and whispered: "Does the old prime minister have an explanation?"

Li Shizhi shook his head slightly.

Li Shizhi said lightly: "His Majesty will not go to this extent. If I am not wrong, he will definitely ease the atmosphere in the court and show favor to some of us, so as to further divide us."

While everyone was looking forward to it, Li Shizhi shook his head and said: "Your Majesty is unwilling to push us to a desperate situation, and we cannot take that step. When it comes time to completely fall out, can you guarantee that His Majesty will not use extreme measures? Let's not talk about Liu Shouguang and Lu Chen. , Not to mention the elite border troops in Jiangbei, just the two Marquis of Yongding and Marquis of Chongshan, are you sure they will stand on our side?"

Leqin Yihan, the Minister of Household Affairs, said in a cold voice: "The only solution now is to get everyone below to take action. As long as the tax revenue this year drops sharply, Your Majesty will understand where the foundation of the imperial court lies."

In other words, if the imperial court wanted to return taxes and taxes from various places to the national treasury, it could not do without their help.

Today, I am having a rest, in the secret manor in the North City, everyone is sitting around in the dark room.

The reason why the Jiangnan families became an important interest group of the Da Qi court was not only because they controlled the power of the court, but also had a more important reason. These high-ranking families were entrenched in the thirteen states of Jiangnan through close connections like spider webs.

Ning Yuanfu said no more, but his face was slightly solemn.

Le Qinyi couldn't help but be speechless.

These people obviously don't get together to talk about romance.

Everyone was sitting upright with stern expressions on their faces.

Everyone couldn't help but be silent. The emperor's throne was now stable, and because of the victory in the border war, it was very difficult to openly oppose him.

Li Shizhi looked around at the crowd and said: "First, I hope that you can be more united in the days to come. Although there may have been some conflicts in the past, now we have reached a moment of life and death, and moving forward and retreating together is an inevitable choice. If we continue to act independently as before, If we are thoughtful, His Majesty will find opportunities to defeat them one by one and take back the things in our pockets little by little."

Ning Yuanfu nodded and said: "It should be so."

The rest expressed their agreement.

Li Shizhi continued: "Second, promote the fight for the crown prince. Your Majesty likes the second prince. I believe you have seen this, but the eldest prince is the legitimate choice for crown prince. In addition, the third prince is ready to make a move. We can take advantage of this matter Give His Majesty a lot of headaches so that he won’t have any extra energy to continue targeting us.”

Ding Hui gave him a meaningful look.

Le Qinyi was not angry because his proposal was rejected. He nodded and said, "This is a good idea. Brother Shi, from now on we will all listen to you, but we must speak out when asked."

No one doubts the weight of this statement. In fact, as early as five or six years ago, Li Daoyan had consciously handed over the power of the family to Li Shizhi. Li Shizhi had used the energy of the Jinlin Li family to make many moves over the years, and had already won the approval of these people in the room.

Li Shizhi was still unfazed and said calmly: "Thank you for your trust. The last thing is to wait. If Hou Yu can arrive at Taiping Prefecture safely, it means that His Majesty's methods are still within the acceptable range. He is still The rules in the court will be followed, and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief."

Ning Yuanfu heard the implication of his words and said slowly: "You mean Hou Yu..."

Li Shizhi said expressionlessly: "I will send people to protect him along the way. After all, he is one of us and has a certain influence in the army. No one can predict what will happen in the future. There may be a chance for him to contribute. However, if His Majesty is really unwilling to let him go, I may not be able to keep him."

Hearing this, everyone's expressions looked very serious.

After half an hour, everyone who had roughly discussed a response left one after another, and in the end only Ding Hui, the Minister of War, was left.

He looked at Li Shizhi who was sitting there and said softly: "Do you want me to send someone to do this about Hou Yu?"

There is no doubt that he knows Li Shizhi's true plan.

Li Shizhi pondered for a long time and said: "No need. During this period, you and I should try to avoid private contact. You should focus all your energy on that person. He is our real trump card."

Ding Hui said seriously: "Yes."

Li Shizhi said quietly: "The power in your Majesty's hands seems to be strong, but in fact it cannot withstand scrutiny at all. The most important thing is that we don't have to rush into a head-on conflict with His Majesty now. We just need to wait patiently."

Ding Hui looked slightly puzzled.

In his view, the emperor was already on the verge of launching a frightening purge of the court and the army, even if he failed to do so for the time being.

The imperial struggle will never be temporary. Now that the emperor has taken the first step to gather power, he will definitely not stop after tasting the sweetness. What he has to do is to carry out this matter to the end until the imperial power of the Tian family is completely guaranteed. of stability.

Li Shizhi glanced at him indifferently, and finally revealed some details to his well-informed companion: "Your Majesty is ill, and it could be as soon as half a year, or as late as a year."

Ding Hui was shocked and couldn't help but swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He suddenly understood the origin of Li Shizhi's three previous suggestions.

Li Shizhi picked up the tea cup and took a sip, his tone slightly erratic: "Wait a moment, don't be in a hurry."

……

On the Hengjiang River that crosses the continent from east to west, it is drizzling and the mountains and rivers are like fog.

The crystal rain falling on the river is like a heavenly being plucking the strings of a musical instrument, ethereal and chilling.

The world is vast and desolate.

This was obviously not a suitable weather for crossing the river, but a small boat set off from the north bank of the river and meandered towards the south.

The sound of rain fell on the awning, making a continuous rustling sound.

There was a middle-aged man sitting in the cabin, wearing a green gown and a wooden hairpin running across his bun.

His appearance is quite fair, with just a hint of coldness, like a lonely ghost walking in the dark night. Ordinary people will inevitably feel fear when they see him, especially those eyes that are more white than black, showing indifference. The meaning of silence.

He was cleaning a long sword.

The blade of the sword was flawless and cold, but he still wiped it meticulously and repeated it countless times, as if the sword was more important than him.

The man in a raincoat on the bow of the boat glanced south and said to the cabin: "Master, we are almost reaching the shore."

After hearing this, the middle-aged man sheathed his long sword and said after a moment: "You don't have to wait on the north bank when you go back, and don't go home. You can stay in the place I have arranged for you for half a year, and then you can go back."

The boatman responded quickly.

The middle-aged man stood up with his sword in hand, put on a hat to protect him from the rain, and then walked slowly to the bow of the ship.

The boatman knew that the middle-aged man must have something important to do when he went south, and the worry in his heart could not subside. After all, the two of them were called master and servant, but in fact they had been dependent on each other for decades, and they had long been no different from family members.

He turned to look at the middle-aged man, the head of the family who was skilled in swordsmanship and ranked sixth on the martial arts list by Jiang Hu Cao Mang, and asked cautiously: "Master, how long will you stay in the capital this time?"

The middle-aged man stared at the misty scenery of the south bank, his eyes still cold, and said indifferently: "It doesn't take long, I just want to kill one person."

(End of this chapter)