The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 162 Conspiracy
"Xiang, the Colonel of the Imperial Guards, is known for his virtuous conduct, his loyalty and filial piety are his foundation, and his talent and learning are his teachers. He has been specially promoted to the position of Minister of Rites."

Wang Xiang maintained a salutation posture and accepted the decree issued by the "Emperor".

The imperial edict came faster than Wang Xiang had expected. He didn't even have to wait until the next day's court meeting. Almost shortly after the court meeting ended, someone found Wang Xiang and read out the emperor's edict immediately.

Wang Xiang remained unmoved and thanked the emperor sincerely.

After seeing off the messenger, a smile finally appeared on Wang Xiang's face.

"Xiu Zheng, are you finally relieved now?"

Lu Yu walked out from the inner room, stroking his beard with a smile, looking quite proud.

Wang Xiang smiled, put away the imperial edict, and invited Lu Yu into the house again.

"Lord Lu, I only wanted to serve the government. Now that I have received such favor with my mediocre talent, I am truly terrified."

Listening to Wang Xiang's words, Lu Yu didn't care and continued, "You know these things in your heart."

Wang Xiang hesitated for a moment and asked, "What about Xun Yi?"

"He came looking for me. He came to me right after you met me."

Lu Yu said, "He originally wanted Cui Zan to take this position. I recommended you to him and asked him to take a look at those ideas."

"He immediately agreed to help you."

Wang Xiang asked, "Why did he want Cui Zan to be the Minister of Rites?"

"Because of Zhong Hui."

"Zhong Hui wants to do justice for the classics. You know this, right?"

"heard."

"Xun Yi wouldn't dare let Zhong Hui do anything reckless. I don't know how Lord Zhong could have given birth to such a son. If someone else had said they wanted to correct the meaning of the classics, I wouldn't have believed them. But when Zhong Hui said this, who wouldn't believe it? Who wouldn't be afraid?"

The more Wang Xiang thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

It all feels like a coincidence.

The emperor held a banquet to build up momentum for himself and give himself a chance to ascend to the throne, and then he specifically brought up the matter of classic justice and asked Zhong Hui to take it. Then Xun Yi and others were afraid that Zhong Hui would act recklessly, so they chose himself, the person closest to the position of Taichang, to take the position.

What if these are not coincidences, but someone is planning it?

Wang Xiang took a deep breath.

He felt more and more that the young emperor was somewhat unfathomable. He inexplicably had the feeling of facing Duke Xuanwen. He took one step and planned three steps ahead. Everything was arranged for him clearly.

Looking at Wang Xiang, who looked dazed, Lu Yu asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"No problem, just remembering some things."

Lu Yu's expression grew serious. He said earnestly, "We must prepare. The Secretariat has already begun operations, preparing large-scale food supplies and mobilizing officials from all over the country. You should understand what the court is going to do, right?"

Wang Xiang said calmly, "I understand."

"After the general has pacified Guanqiu Jian, I will take the lead in proposing those suggestions. At that time, you must fully cooperate. Now Xun Yi and others are on our side."

Lu Yu looked quite excited, and he had absolute confidence in completing this task.

Wang Xiang also smiled, but he disagreed in his heart.

Lord Lu, since you insist on delaying, let us take the lead on your behalf. After all, everyone will benefit if this matter is accomplished, and you will not lose the big picture for the sake of small gains. How can you occupy a strategic position in the Secretariat, but have so many concerns when doing things?
While listening to Lu Yu's wonderful fantasy, Wang Xiang thought of other things.

I don’t know how Chen Qian is doing at the moment. Are things going well?

At this moment, Chen Qian was sitting in the Zongzheng Mansion, facing the newly appointed Zongzheng, drinking tea and chatting.

The newly appointed Zong Zheng was the former Shaofu Zheng Mao.

At the beginning, Sima Shi sent three people to welcome Cao Mao. Among them, Wang Su was deceived and returned to his hometown, Hua Biao lived his life in fear, and Zheng Mao also changed his official title.

He was transferred from Shaofu to Guanglu Xun, and was concurrently in charge of Zongzheng as Guanglu Xun.

The Zong Zheng was the official in charge of the affairs of the royal clan.

In fact, the position of Zong Zheng should be held by a member of the royal family. The reason why Zheng Mao was able to become Zong Zheng was that his wife's surname was Cao, which counted him as a member of the royal family. The problem was that although his wife's surname was Cao, she was not a member of the royal family!
At this moment, Chen Qian and Zheng Mao sat facing each other, and the atmosphere was a little quiet.

Chen Qian put down the tea in his hand and spoke first: "Mr. Zheng, I heard that you were promoted to Zongzheng, so I came here specially to congratulate you."

Hearing this, a hint of helplessness flashed in Zheng Mao's eyes.

How can this be considered a promotion?

What could the current Zongzheng be in charge of? A large number of clan members had been transferred to Hebei, and almost all of them were kept in captivity. The few who remained were also unable to sleep or eat peacefully. How could there be any need for him to manage the clan?
But Zheng Mao didn't say these words out loud. He nodded and said, "Thank you, Mr. Chen."

Chen Qian laughed. "The general thinks highly of you. Of the three people who went to Yuancheng, you were the only one who got promoted. This is enough to show how much the general values you."

Zheng Mao didn't say anything more this time, his expression was very serious.

Chen Qian shook his head. "You will offend a lot of people in the future. Now, the only thing a Zongzheng can be responsible for is to deal with the royal family who make mistakes. The court has strict laws against the royal family. You have to take on this evil person. It seems that the general does not trust you? Or does he want you to sever your relationship with the emperor?" There was finally some surprise in Zheng Mao's eyes. He looked at Chen Qian in front of him.

"Could it be that Lord Chen is planning a rebellion?"

"Please don't scare me like this."

Chen Qian hastily denied it and said again, "I just want to work with you on this important matter."

Zheng Mao said seriously, "If you intend to rebel, you must kill me. Otherwise, I will inform the general immediately."

"Will the general trust you then?"

Chen Qian asked back.

Zheng Mao remained silent.

Zheng Mao was different from the other ministers. He never showed any tendency to support the Sima family. He was cautious by nature and did not want to get involved in the chaos in the temple. He promoted and recommended many talented people.

As the sponsor, he did not contact these people at all, nor did he take the initiative to win them over. Despite this, in Sima Shi's eyes, he was still a key figure who had connections with many ministers in the temple.

This made Sima Shi always wary of him, constantly testing his background and even forcing him to take a stand.

Historically, when Sima Shi went to attack Guanqiu Jian, he wanted to take Wang Su and Zheng Mao with him. Zheng Mao claimed that he was seriously ill and did not go. Sima Shi then took Wang Su's hand and said that he felt very sorry for not being able to see Zheng Mao.

When Wang Su brought these frightening words to Zheng Mao, Zheng Mao was so frightened that he immediately got into the car and ran madly to chase Sima Shi.

When Sima Shi saw him coming, he happily pulled him into the carriage and asked him how he defeated Guanqiu Jian.

Zheng Mao gave his answer, and Sima Shi was satisfied and let him leave.

This was completely Sima Shi forcing Zheng Mao to express his position. If Zheng Mao had not chased Sima Shi at that time, or had not offered any advice, he might have "died of illness" soon after. After all, he claimed that he was seriously ill.

Chen Qian looked at Zheng Mao who was hesitating in front of him and finally spoke.

"Don't worry, I'm not plotting a rebellion. I really have something important to discuss with you. Please listen to me."

Chen Qian truthfully told Wang Xiang all the big stories he had told him.

But when he finished speaking, Zheng Mao could no longer sit still.

"When did you surrender to His Majesty?!"

"kindness?!"

There was some surprise in Chen Qian's eyes.

"What has this to do with your Majesty?"

Zheng Mao said, "When I went to Yuancheng to welcome Your Majesty, I heard these things from Lord Hua. Your Majesty had these thoughts at that time, and they are exactly the same as what you are saying now!"

"Are you here to lobby His Majesty?!"

Zheng Mao questioned sternly.

Chen Qian was not at all flustered. He smiled and said, "I am lobbying for the Queen Mother, not for Your Majesty."

"Mr. Zheng, I know you well. I know you are definitely not someone who can be driven by profit. I also know you are always cautious and unwilling to get involved in disputes within the government. However, when I learned of this, I came to you first."

"This is because I understand your current situation very well. The general seems to value you, but in his heart he is always wary of you, believing that you are disloyal to him. You can't just avoid it by not wanting to participate. You must make a choice."

"This isn't about making an enemy of the general; it's a great opportunity to improve the power of the courtiers."

"The reason I dare to tell you this in person is because I'm not afraid that the general will kill me for this."

"The same is true for you. This matter will not harm you, but will instead be your life-saving talisman. As long as you are tied to the interests of the aristocratic family, no one in the world will dare to kill you."

"Even if the general has murderous intentions towards you, he dare not act rashly, otherwise he will be retaliated by his ministers."

"What do you think?"

Chen Qian quickly stated his reasons.

Zheng Mao fell silent. He could naturally feel Sima Shi's vigilance and probing towards him. This feeling made Zheng Mao very uneasy. He usually hid in the mansion and seldom went out. He dared not speak or make reports in the temple, avoiding things for fear of being attacked inexplicably.

Zheng Mao couldn't understand the general's thoughts. He had clearly done nothing but fulfill his duties and recommended some useful talents. Why should he be afraid of him?

At this moment, the image of the young emperor appeared in Zheng Mao's mind again.

Although they had only met a few times, the young emperor left a very strong impression on him.

Seeing Zheng Mao's hesitation, Chen Qian smiled and stood up slowly without pressing him. "It seems that I was inconsiderate. Since you are unwilling to participate, please keep it a secret for the time being. It will be soon. In the next few days, I will formally contact the ministers in the court. However, I feel that handling such a matter alone is a bit tiring, so I wanted to do it with you."

"Could you give me a few more days to think about it?"

Chen Qian frowned and said, "Alright, just two days. After two days, please give me an answer."

(End of this chapter)