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Chapter 301 The guilty minister ()

After joking for a while, Song Yuan quickly got back to the topic: "The last general has gone through the list given by Chen Changshi in private, and all the gifts have been sent out."

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly and whispered: "I don't ask them to do anything. As long as they remain silent when I confront Prime Minister Wang, that's enough."

Speaking of Prime Minister Wang, Song Yuan frowned: "The Yingwei camp was defeated, and General Wei will definitely be severely punished. However, it will not be easy to completely overthrow Prime Minister Wang."

Jiang Shaohua's eyes flashed and he said calmly: "The embankment of a thousand miles collapsed in an ant nest. It is certainly not easy to overthrow Prime Minister Wang. However, we must suppress his arrogance first, and wait for the prince to ascend the throne and sit on the dragon throne, then we can step by step In charge of the government. Until then, I will lean against the big tree to enjoy the shade."

Song Yuan thought for a while and asked seriously: "Does the princess think His Highness the Crown Prince is reliable?"

Jiang Shaohua was silent for a moment.

The prince was a short-lived ghost in his previous life, and died unexpectedly before he could even sit on the throne. The conspiracy, calculation and assassination are thrilling.

This matter cannot be entirely blamed on the sneaky villain. As the emperor, he trusts others easily, his power is unstable, and he is plotted by others. It can also be said that his ability is not worthy of his position.

In this life, can she alone turn the tide and change the fate of the prince's early death?
Based on her understanding of Zheng Chen, Zheng Chen might not come to the rescue. Those who aspire to be powerful ministers are naturally happy to have a silly child sit on the throne.

The next day, Jiang Shaohua got up at five o'clock and practiced boxing and kicking for an hour. After bathing and changing clothes, he rode into the palace on horseback.

Jiang Shaohua went out early and came back late every day. Most of the time, he had dinner in the palace before returning home. It can be seen how favored Jiang Shaohua is and how popular he is.

Song Yuan thought to himself and said, "Princess, please rest early. You will have to get up early to enter the palace tomorrow."

Jiang Shaohua comes every day. From the beginning, the ministers were dazzling and annoying, but now they are unwilling but gradually getting used to it.

The Xiaochao meeting always starts with the Pingzhou war.

Jiang Shaohua smiled and nodded.

"I don't know." Jiang Shaohua said slowly, "I hope that my cousin can be a wise king who can make all officials surrender and let the people live a better life."

The prince was holding the battle report that had just been sent to the palace today, his brows were twisted into knots, and his voice was full of anger: "The rebel army has occupied Pingzhou, and now they have also occupied three counties outside Pingzhou. All the ministers are talking about it. , how to deal with it now.”

Jiang Shaohua stood in the position of the clan king, quite close to His Royal Highness, and was very quiet most of the time. However, no one among the important officials in the palace dared to underestimate him.

As the Secretary of the Ministry of War, Duke An Guo had the duty to be the first to speak: "Your Highness, calm down. Pingzhou is a long way away. General Fan has already led troops to reinforce. It will take some time to reach Pingzhou..."

Only Prince Wu'an, who had suffered many losses, stared hard at Jiang Shaohua. Jiang Shaohua looked calm and turned a blind eye.

The prince snorted coldly: "Zheng Shangshu reminds me that this battle report has been on the road for half a month. In other words, in this half month, the Pingzhou rebels may have occupied more places."

The prince held a small court meeting in the Showa Hall every morning. Civil servants and generals of third rank or above, and clans above the county king all participated.

……

It seems that the princess has limited confidence in His Royal Highness, otherwise she would not use the word hope.

This is indeed very possible.

The Pingzhou rebels were obviously very ambitious. As soon as they established a foothold in Pingzhou, they began to expand their territory wantonly. How could the young and energetic prince swallow the humiliation of dividing the territory and occupying the land and becoming the king?

As soon as the rebellion in Pingzhou was mentioned, Prime Minister Wang felt guilty. But he couldn't help but speak: "General Fan has led 50,000 elite troops, and there are more than 20,000 soldiers in Pingzhou, adding up to more than 70,000 troops. We will surely pacify Pingzhou in the shortest time." As soon as he finished speaking, A sarcastic voice sounded: "Prime Minister Wang said it lightly. Pingzhou was occupied by rebels, and the British Guards Battalion lost more than 10,000 elite soldiers. General Du also died in Pingzhou. All this is because of Prime Minister Wang is acting selfishly.”

The person who jumped out to take the lead today was the backbone of the Queen Mother's Party, Cheng Shilang of the Ministry of Works.

Next, there was another fierce battle that everyone is familiar with. Prime Minister Wang's followers were dismissed one after another and argued with reason. Duke An Guo and others spoke fiercely and impassionedly, demanding severe punishment for Prime Minister Wang. Even the clan, princes and princes were also pulled out of the muddy water. Some implicitly supported Prime Minister Wang, while some stood upright and righteously on the side of An Guogong.

Jiang Shaohua watched this farce with cold eyes.

Under the instruction of Queen Mother Zheng, the Queen Mother Party fiercely accused Prime Minister Wang, not to bring down Prime Minister Wang. Instead, he must repeatedly remind the prince that Prime Minister Wang's "contribution" was among the reasons why Emperor Taikang was so angry that he ascended to heaven.

The prince hated Prime Minister Wang, so he would naturally rely on Empress Dowager Zheng and make important use of An Guogong and others.

Empress Dowager Zheng may not be good at political affairs, but she is a real master at manipulating people's hearts.

After these days of turmoil, the prince's dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Wang has become clear.

The prince suppressed the unhappiness in his heart and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, please shut up."

"General Wei will arrive in the capital in two days' journey. When General Wei comes back, he will be interrogated by the Criminal Department to find out the reasons for the defeat and then punish him."

……

Prime Minister Wang walked out of Zhaohe Hall with an expressionless expression.

Zhang Shangshu, Zhou Shangshu and Dai Shangshu followed suit, walking quickly. After leaving the palace, they each went to the palace in soft sedan chairs.

On this side, several officials from the Zheng Mansion also came in and out.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that as soon as General Wei enters Beijing, he will encounter a violent storm. Daliang Chaotang didn't know how long the chaos and turmoil would last.

The prince went to Jingyang Palace and had lunch with Queen Mother Zheng.

Empress Dowager Zheng was still ill. She looked pale and had poor appetite. She ate a few hastily and then put down her chopsticks. He sighed and said: "The Ai family has heard about what happened at today's court meeting. The most important thing now is for you to ascend the throne smoothly and sit on the throne. You can't push Prime Minister Wang too hard, otherwise there will be some trouble."

These words sounded like admonishment, but in fact they only added fuel to the fire.

The prince pursed his thin lips and responded in a low voice.

Empress Dowager Zheng was well aware of the heat of the wind blowing in her ears, and she would change the topic with just a few words.

Two days later, General Wei finally arrived in the capital.

General Wei, who is in his forties, is tall and has a majestic appearance. He can be called a handsome man among all the generals.

But this defeat in Pingzhou directly destroyed General Wei's spirit. When General Wei appeared in front of everyone, everyone was shocked.

Thin, emaciated, down and out...all the words combined are not enough to describe General Wei. It was as if all the muscles and bones had been pulled away, leaving only a numb and painful skin.

"The guilty minister, Wei Changfeng, has met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." General Wei's voice was hoarse and he could not kneel down: "The guilty minister was defeated in Pingzhou, lost his troops and generals, and lost Pingzhou. The emperor was so angry that he died. All of this has happened. It’s the fault of the guilty minister.”

"Your Highness, please grant the guilty minister a speedy death. The guilty minister will go underground and then plead guilty to the Emperor."