Jiuxi

Chapter 851 849 [Mountain Collapse]

At 2:00 am, thunder continued and the rain continued to fall.

In such weather, most people would stay in bed and dream a long dream.

However, for a very few people, tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.

In a dark room in the northeast corner of the Li family mansion, more than a dozen middle-aged men were sitting around a long table.

The person sitting north and facing south is none other than Li Shizhi, the head of the Jinlin Li family and the Minister of Personnel.

The first one on the left is the Minister of Rites Hu Jingwen, the second is the Hanlin scholar Chen Chun, and the third is the Minister of Punishments Yang Jing.

The first one on the right is the Minister of Revenue Jing Qingshan, the second is the former Imperial College Chief Academician Pei Fangyuan, and the third is the former Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Lou Huanzhang. The latter two were dismissed from office because of the previous Beijing Inspection Incident, but the emperor did not punish them further for the sake of Li Shizhi. Only the former Supreme Court Minister Qi Weili was severely punished.

The rest were also high-ranking officials in the court.

Except for Jing Qingshan, everyone else present was a representative of the aristocratic families in Jiangnan.

This secret meeting started half an hour ago, and almost everyone had a strange light in their eyes.

No matter how calm and steady they usually appear in front of outsiders, it is difficult for them to conceal their true feelings in this dark room.

"When Guo Congyi, Wang Yan, Ning Yuanfu, Le Qinyi and others were executed, although I felt that they were too stupid to die, I also felt a bit sad for them, and at the same time, I felt more confused and scared."

Minister of Rites Hu Jingwen sighed softly and continued, "When Heluo fell and the country was in danger, the late emperor fled south with only his wife, children and a few followers. Who saved half of Da Qi? Old Prime Minister Li and Lord Han certainly made great contributions, but if there were no unremitting support from the prominent families in Jiangnan, would the late emperor be able to sit firmly on the throne? Would Da Qi be able to support a strong border army? Guo Congyi and others are certainly seeking their own death, but the late emperor's determination to suppress our generation has been revealed. If he had lived a few more years, I'm afraid we would have to go down and accompany Guo Congyi and others."

These words made everyone sigh.

Lou Huanzhang took over the conversation, his tone somewhat cold and stern: "It has come to this point, it is nothing more than a life-and-death struggle."

"My dear brothers..."

Li Shizhi coughed lightly and said slowly: "I just told you what will happen tonight, but I hope you will remember that this is just the beginning. If we want to achieve our goal, there are still countless difficulties and obstacles ahead. We must not be careless."

"Yes."

Everyone spoke up at once and responded extremely respectfully.

Li Shizhi also warned: "You still need to be careful in the next few days and don't let anyone see any clues."

Everyone agreed again.

Li Shizhi picked up the teacup, smiled, and said, "I will offer you a cup of tea instead of wine. I hope that when we meet again, the weather will be fine and the world will be peaceful. Then we can drink until we are drunk."

"Cheers to Lord Li!"

Jing Qingshan was the first to raise his teacup, and the others quickly followed suit.

At this moment Li Shizhi was sitting, while everyone else stood up, holding teacups in both hands.

The smile on his face grew wider.

After everyone left, Cui Yu emerged from the shadows, looked at Li Shizhi standing in front of the window with great confidence, and asked softly, "You should be able to answer the questions in my mind now?"

Li Shizhi turned his head and looked at him, with a hint of something inexplicable in his eyes. He nodded and said, "You go ahead."

"I know you have been secretly setting up ambushes for so many years, but I didn't expect you to be able to convince Queen Mother Xu to join forces."

"Queen Mother Xu is a smart person, but not smart enough, so she will be fooled by the emperor. I just use some subtle means to make her wake up. At least within the palace, she has the ability to go all out."

Li Shizhi was calm, and then continued: "Of course, the person who really prompted Empress Dowager Xu to make up her mind was not me, but the emperor himself. Empress Dowager Xu and the late emperor supported each other and had a deep relationship. She would not go against the late emperor's wishes unless it was absolutely necessary. However, the emperor released Li Zongjian from the imperial prison, which shows that he had the intention to kill him, but at the same time gave Li Zongjian a glimmer of hope. If Li Zongjian had been imprisoned in the imperial prison, Empress Dowager Xu would not have come to this step, whether she was afraid of the consequences or had illusions."

Cui Yu was silent for a moment, then asked, "Since you have already obtained the support of Queen Mother Xu, why don't you just use all your strength to kill Lu Chen? Why must you use legitimate means? Do you know how many risks are hidden in this?"

"I told you a long time ago that Lu Chen's life or death is not important."

Li Shizhi walked back to the table and sat down, saying calmly: "Lu Chen is a very useful chess piece. Only he can bear the crime of regicide. Civil and military officials, noble families and the people of Daqi will believe that he dares to do it and has the ability to do it. From the beginning to the end, everything I did was to promote the rift between the emperor and his ministers and let Lu Chen stand on the opposite side of the emperor. So when he despised the court and acted recklessly, I was very happy, because such a person completely fits the image of an ambitious and powerful minister."

"So once the emperor dies, Lu Chen will become a rebel who kills the emperor and usurps the throne. Then Queen Mother Xu will let Li Zongjian inherit the throne, and you can control the power inside and outside the country."

"Li Zongjian?"

Li Shizhi just smiled faintly when he heard this and did not comment further.

Cui Yu stared into his deep eyes and finally asked the question that had been hidden in his heart: "Brother, when did you start to have this idea of ​​replacing me?"

"About twelve years ago."

Li Shizhi did not hide anything and said frankly: "That was the first time I found that my father was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he had to continue to maintain the majesty of the previous emperor, and on the other hand, he had to find ways to appease the heads of various families. I saw how difficult it was for him, and in the end he was not pleasing either side. Suddenly, a thought popped up in my mind: Jinlin Li family supports the Great Qi Dynasty, why do they have to suffer like this?"

"Since it's so difficult, why not do it yourself?"

Cui Yu was deeply shocked. Even though he possessed an outstanding talent in martial arts and had grown stronger and ranked second on the Jianghu Martial Arts List after leaving the Jinlin Li family, he couldn't help but be distracted at this moment.

After finally calming down, he sighed and said, "I always feel a little anxious." "I told you before that I know the time is not yet ripe, but I can't wait any longer."

Li Shizhi's eyes flashed with a cold light, as if trying to convince himself, and he repeated: "Ding Hui is not dead, we can't wait any longer."

……

When the time came to the beginning of the Yin hour, the thunderstorm that had been going on for most of the night finally showed signs of abating.

The harem is the emperor's bedroom.

Li Zongben didn't sleep well on the dragon bed.

He did not sleep in the same bed with Queen Ning these days, perhaps because he had too many emotions suppressed in his heart and wanted to be alone and quiet.

The same was true tonight. He listened to the sound of thunder and rain in the first half of the night and was unable to fall asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, the name Lu Chen would appear in his mind.

Judging from the clues currently available, even if Lu Chen was not involved in the assassination of the emperor in the imperial mausoleum, he more or less knew some inside information, and he cannot escape the charge of at least knowing the truth and not reporting it.

In addition, Ding Hui was assassinated as soon as he arrived in Dingzhou, Han Zhongjie was never able to be reinstated, there was that inexplicable storm in the capital, Lu Tong refused to stay in the capital, etc. All these things can prove that Lu Chen is not as loyal as people imagine.

At this time, Li Zongben had secretly made up his mind that this time he must not raise it high and then put it down easily.

When Yuan Yuji brings the Gao brothers to Beijing, he will use this incident as an entry point to deprive Lu Chen of his military power. I think people from all walks of life will agree with this.

However, Li Zongben couldn't help but hesitate. Even though he was never an indecisive person, facing a minister like Lu Chen who was in a high position and had made countless contributions, he still had to consider how to deal with him most reasonably and minimize the negative impact as much as possible.

With these messy thoughts in his mind, Li Zongben finally fell asleep.

In his dream, he actually saw his father.

This was an extremely empty wilderness. A man who looked very similar to Li Duan was standing in the distance with his back to Li Zongben.

The surrounding environment was very dark. Li Zongben tried hard to open his eyes wide and ran towards the figure with surprise and trepidation. However, no matter how fast he sped up, the distance between him and the figure seemed to never be shortened.

Li Zongben stopped panting, feeling his limbs very heavy and pictures seemed to float before his eyes.

When he was young, he was displaced and followed his parents from Jiangbei all the way to Jiangnan.

When his father ascended the throne, he became a prince. He spent a few happy and carefree years at first, although he did not understand why his father was always so busy and his mother shed tears secretly.

As he grew older, he finally knew his identity and future. However, at the end of that year, when he was offering sacrifices to his ancestors, he saw the eldest prince standing beside his father, and jealousy gradually consumed his heart.

Later, he met Han Zhongjie, and under his persuasion, Li Zongben resolutely embarked on the path of competing for the throne. To this end, he secretly provoked the conflict between the eldest prince and Li Zongjian. On the surface, he was still the Prince of Xiang who indulged in romantic affairs and did not care about the world.

The eldest prince died and Li Zongjian was imprisoned. He finally got his wish and became the crown prince of Da Qi.

This life of only twenty-eight years seemed so long to him.

Li Zongben felt that his breathing was becoming increasingly difficult, but the figure in the distance was still very far away. He could not help but shout loudly, "Father!"

The man seemed to have heard his cry and suddenly turned around. A hideous face covered in blood suddenly appeared in front of Li Zongben. He was so frightened that his whole body trembled and his eyes suddenly opened.

The bedroom was extremely quiet, but Li Zongben saw a face above his head. It was a palace maid he was familiar with.

This face is extremely hideous.

At this moment, he felt that he could no longer breathe, and there was a cloth strap tightly around his throat.

"Ho-ho-"

Li Zongben suddenly let out a low cry and tried to struggle, but found that his hands and feet were being held down.

He tried his best to raise his head a few inches, and then he saw that several palace maids had climbed onto the dragon bed, kneeling on his hands and feet, and suppressing him with all their strength.

Li Zongben's pupils gradually dilated and bloodshot quickly filled his eyeballs. However, the cloth strap around his throat did not loosen at all, but became tighter and tighter.

There was indeed tension and fear on the faces of the four palace maids, but the palace maid kneeling behind Li Zongben had an indifferent expression, and there was even a hint of madness in her eyes.

Li Zongben finally stopped struggling.

The Emperor of Qi, who had been on the throne for more than two years, lay on the wide dragon bed with his limbs spread out, his eyes wide open, and no longer lifeless.

"boom!"

A terrifying thunderbolt dropped from the sky, almost shaking the world.

Another series of lightning flashed, illuminating the magnificent imperial palace.

Between black and white, there is an endless murderous aura.

(End of this chapter)