Jiuxi

Chapter 581 579 [Moon Like a Hook]

Prime Minister's Residence, East Garden.

The moonlight was as clear as a mirror, pouring into the study through the window, blending with the candlelight, creating a soft halo.

Li Shizhi, the Left Vice Minister of Rites, sat behind the desk, leaning back in his chair with his eyes slightly closed.

A pretty girl of about sixteen or seventeen stood behind him, massaging his shoulders with her soft, white hands.

Another man in his forties stood in front of the desk, his eyes fixed on the ground, and said slowly, "Master, the new second and third place winners and seventeen second-class Jinshi all wanted to come and visit you these days. I followed your instructions and persuaded them all to go back with kind words."

He is Li Jinshan. On the surface, he is just the manager of Dongyuan, but in fact he is Li Shizhi's most trusted confidant and knows many of Li Shizhi's secrets.

These newly-appointed Jinshi scholars who had just entered the court had a special relationship with Li Shizhi, because Li Shizhi was the chief examiner of this year's joint examination. Although the palace examination at the end of March had nothing to do with him, all candidates had to respectfully call him "Master".

In official circles, the relationship between master and disciple is extremely close, and no matter how frequent their private contacts are, they will not attract criticism.

It’s just that the time they chose was a bit inappropriate, so Li Jinshan didn’t let them in.

"These young people are quite interesting."

Li Shizhi smiled faintly, then raised his hand and patted the back of the girl's hand.

The girl bowed politely and said, "I'll take my leave."

Li Jinshan looked straight ahead, as if the girl didn't exist at all.

He stepped forward to help Li Shizhi fill his teacup and whispered, "Master, there are two undercurrents in Beijing recently."

"speak."

"One is that several officials secretly colluded and wanted to demote Shanyang Marquis Lu Chen in disguise after the crown prince ascended the throne."

"A promotion in name only and a demotion in reality?"

Li Shizhi raised his lips and said calmly, "Do you really want to make him a Duke?"

Li Jinshan also smiled and said, "Yes."

Li Shizhi then asked, "Who is in charge of this?"

Li Jinshan replied, "Xin Yixian, the Imperial Academy's Attending Scholar, and Shen Yu, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel's Seal Verification Department, Lu Ying, the Imperial Censorate's Attending Censor, and Wang Tongji, the Director of the Imperial Household Department. Their actions were not confidential, and they often discussed with each other in the elegant room of the Fan Tower, so I knew about them."

Fanlou is as famous as Moyuan and is the most elegant place in Beijing. It is also the property of Jinlin Li family.

"Xin Yixian..."

Li Shizhi frowned slightly.

Li Jinshan reminded him at the right time: "Master, although this Scholar Xin is considered to be a junior of Minister Zhong, he should not be considered one of his confidants. When Minister Zhong was a Hanlin scholar, he did not have a close relationship with this Scholar Xin."

During the last few months of Li Duan's reign, there were some subtle changes in the court structure.

The positions of the two prime ministers remained unshakable, but the backbone generation had already emerged, the most eye-catching of which were the two new ministers and a left vice minister.

Hanlin scholar Zhong Cheng was promoted to Minister of Personnel, and Yongjia Prefecture Governor Jing Qingshan was promoted to Minister of Revenue.

Li Shizhi, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was transferred to the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Although it was a horizontal transfer in terms of official rank, it was actually a step up.

These three ministries have always been referred to as the "upper three ministries" by the world, and the ministries of justice, war, and industry are naturally the lower three ministries.

Among them, Zhong Cheng's status rose the fastest. After all, the Minister of Personnel had the honorific title of "Heavenly Official" and was the head of the six ministers. In terms of actual power, he far surpassed others.

Moreover, Zhong Cheng is not a disciple of Li Daoyan or Xue Nanting. After he was promoted to the Minister of Personnel, some court officials have gathered under his wing. It is very likely that he will become the third leader among the court civil servants in the future.

Li Shizhi said calmly, "Others won't see it so clearly. Zhong Cheng has been running the Imperial Academy for many years. Even if Xin Yixian is not his man, he cannot completely escape the connection. Not to mention that there is also Shen Yu, the deputy director of the Ministry of Personnel's Seal Verification Department. Don't forget whose territory the Ministry of Personnel is now."

Li Jinshan said, "Master, is it possible that this matter was indeed instructed by Minister Zhong?"

Li Shizhi smiled, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said: "Zhong Cheng is a dog that can't bark. He is the person that the late emperor hid among the smugglers. How could such a person use such a stupid method?"

Li Jinshan's eyes lit up, and he said, "Then do our people want to lend a helping hand to Xin Yixian?"

Li Shizhi looked at him strangely.

Li Jinshan hesitated and did not dare to continue speaking.

Li Shizhi put down his teacup and said leisurely, "Those pedantic scholars thought that such a small quarrel could deal with Lu Chen. They are really stupid and ignorant. Not only can we not help them, but we have to step on them and then lead the flames to Zhong Cheng."

Li Jinshan suddenly realized, "I understand."

Li Shizhi pondered for a moment and said, "Let Pei Fangyuan do it. He knows what to do."

Li Jinshan responded respectfully.

"What's one more thing?"

"According to the master's instructions, our spies in the Weaving Bureau have been keeping an eye on Xu Ruqing from the Xu family and discovered that he had met with a wealthy businessman named Liu from Changle Prefecture in Huzhou three times recently." "Changle Prefecture?"

"Yes, sir."

Li Shizhi fell into a long silence.

The place name Changle was certainly not unfamiliar to him, as a famous clan was born there, namely the Changle Ning family, which was once listed among the nine major families in Jiangnan.

The former Minister of Personnel Ning Yuanfu was from this family.

After the rebellion in the capital was put down, the Ning family of Changle was confiscated and exterminated, and the other three powerful families suffered the same fate. The wealth they had accumulated over a hundred years was all put into the national treasury to support the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Great Qi in Jiangbei to fight endless battles.

However, the disappearance of the Changle Ning family does not mean that the local aristocratic power has been eradicated, it has just been replaced by another form.

Li Shizhi sighed: "These people really don't give up."

Who is Xu Ruqing?

Ordinary people and even some middle and lower-level officials seldom heard of this name, but the master and servant in the study naturally knew that he was the eldest son of this generation of the royal family and had previously been the bridge between the third prince and the royal family.

Li Jinshan said solemnly, "Master, it seems that they still want to instigate the Third Prince's ambition and their intention to cause chaos is still alive."

Li Shizhi asked expressionlessly, "What's so strange?"

Li Jinshan said: "I just didn't expect that after the previous emperor's purge, there are still people who dare to interfere in the affairs of the court."

"For two reasons."

Li Shizhi adjusted his sitting posture slightly and said calmly: "First, a centipede is still alive even after it dies. After the fall of the four families, there was turmoil in various parts of Jiangnan. Some weaker families finally found an opportunity to push their own people up, but they still yearn to step into the center, so they must choose a representative who can bring them benefits and power."

"The reason why they chose the imprisoned Third Prince instead of the Crown Prince is because of the second reason, which is also the reason why they can no longer remain dormant and patient."

“That is the Dharma of the Realm of Sutras.”

When he said the last three words, a complicated look appeared in Li Shizhi's eyes.

"The law of the realm..."

Li Jinshan muttered to himself, and after a moment he came to his senses and sighed, "Indeed, once the Jingjie Law is implemented in all parts of Jiangnan, it can almost dig up the foundation of the power of the aristocratic families. No wonder they are so crazy."

In fact, he still couldn't be sure why Li Shizhi could make such a clear judgment when Xu Ruqing met a wealthy businessman from Huzhou. He was sure that the power hidden under the surface of the capital wanted to use the identity of the third prince to do something earth-shaking.

But he firmly believed that his master's judgment would not be wrong.

Li Shizhi said: "The crown prince will not change his mind every day, at least not in the next few years, so the court will spare no effort to promote the Jingjie Law, which will force those powerful families to take risks. I am just a little curious now, how far these people can go."

Li Jinshan's heart moved, and he whispered: "Master, should we give them a push in secret?"

As Li Shizhi's most trusted confidant, he could vaguely guess his master's thoughts. A mere Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites was obviously not his goal.

Although some things cannot be said explicitly, Li Jinshan felt that he could be bolder and at least provide some reference to Li Shizhi.

Li Shizhi said sarcastically, "The scholars have been rebelling for ten years but have failed. They are no longer the dignitaries who controlled the Beijing army. They are just a group of insects hiding in the dark. No matter how hard you try, they only have some tricks that are not worthy of being shown on the stage. Why should we help them? I have waited for more than ten years. I don't mind waiting a little longer."

Li Jinshan said convincingly: "I am stupid, please forgive me, sir."

Li Shizhi waved his hand and said, "It's okay. Keep someone watching Xu Ruqing, but be careful not to alert them and make them hesitate. Although I won't help those idiots, it may not be a bad thing if they can test the quality of the crown prince."

Li Jinshan bowed his head and agreed. Seeing that Li Shizhi looked tired, he tactfully bowed and left.

Li Shizhi sat alone for a while, then stood up and walked outside, standing in the corridor and gazing at the cold moonlight.

He smiled meaningfully and turned to look towards the northwest.

The buildings in the prime minister's mansion stretched out like mountains, so he naturally couldn't see the Jinlin Hall where his old father lived.

But he knew that at this moment, his father, Lord Zuo Xiang, was teaching the best young man of the third generation of the Li family.

"Father, you pin the future of the Li family on Lu Chen. Although this idea is far-sighted, don't you know that if the court of Da Qi is led by someone like Lu Chen in the future, the first person he will attack will be the Jinlin Li family."

"The Li family has been passed down for hundreds of years, but you want to hand over your fate to others, hoping that the butcher knife in the other party's hand will not fall. My son really cannot agree with your decision."

"Zhi Yu'er does have the talent of a phoenix, but he is too young. By the time he is able to shoulder the responsibility of the Li family, perhaps this hundreds of years of foundation will have already become someone else's food."

"This world is like sailing against the current. If you don't move forward, you will fall behind. You can't let others manage the fate of the Li family, because outsiders are outsiders and are not trustworthy."

"Since you are so conflicted, let your son make the decision for you."

Li Shizhi whispered to himself, with a hint of melancholy between his brows.

And turned into indifference.

(End of this chapter)