Joy of Life: I'm really not a saint

Li An didn't care whether Shen Zhong could be reused after going to Qing Kingdom, but he was afraid that Fan Xian's life would not be easy in the future.

Perhaps his existence would greatly reduce Sean's value to the temple, but whether it was Sean's tactics or Fan Xian's deception, it would make Emperor Qing re-evaluate the importance of Chen Pingping, and at the same time - would also accelerate his demise.

Feeling grateful that he had brought a bit of vitality to the dull Qing Kingdom, and also feeling grateful that Yan Bingyun might have good things coming because of being used to bind Shen Zhong, Li An went out happily and got on the carriage, accompanied by Yan Xiaoyi and his son.

There was heavy snow falling from the sky.

The three of them were dressed in ordinary and thin clothes. Even the national master didn't have work clothes, especially on such an important day as today.

Li An also went to the palace twice these days, and mainly discussed with the emperor about the future development of Northern Qi and the development of smuggling. The important thing about smuggling is not the money, but the channels. Of course, it is not to say that money is not important. Now what Qi needs most is precisely these money. It's just that in the long run, these channels are more important. As for entering the palace today, it is to solve the future development of Northern Qi.

When the carriage passed Xiushui Street, Li An leaned out of the window and looked carefully.

Many of the shop owners here are spies placed by Qing Kingdom in the open by Northern Qi. There are merchants from all over the southern counties here. After traveling around the world, they will transfer the intelligence they collect back to Qing Kingdom, so that Southern Qing can be successful. It is still early at this time. Looking at the hurried figures of people, it seems that with the passing of winter, the intelligence system that has been dormant for some time has revived again, showing vitality.

"Have Sean and Uesugi Tiger taken action?"

Li An yawned a little uncomfortably, exhaling a cloud of white mist. Fortunately, Butler Chen was thoughtful and prepared hot tea in the carriage, which allowed the three of them to pass the time.

Yan Xiaoyi was still cold and taciturn, but the arrival of his son had brought about some changes in him, which Li An was happy to see.

"Everything has been prepared. I believe that sir has big plans this time." Yan Xiaoyi's tone was slightly cheerful. He had done some things for Li An, from which he could see some of Li An's arrangements and intentions. It seemed that the day of revenge was not far away.

Li An smiled slightly, knowing that his biggest motivation was revenge, followed by achievement. As for archery, it was a hobby, not a pursuit.

"They are indeed stupid. They think they can do this without anyone noticing." Li An took a sip of tea. "After today, you will have to get busy."

Yan Xiaoyi did not comment.

When the carriage was about to enter the palace, Yan Xiaoyi asked the question in his heart: "When a country is like a person, is it the beginning of his glory, but also the precursor of his demise?"

Yan Xiaoyi is right.

When a country has only one will, all forces will converge in one place. Then naturally, no matter what they do or what kind of powerful enemies they have, they cannot be feared or defeated. However, this situation often leads to major disasters due to the incompetence and misjudgment of the rulers.

When the mood of the ruler changes, the future of the country will change.

"It is people, not machines, who rule the country. Machines are things that can work perfectly, so what you think is not wrong. Of course, it also depends on who the decision maker is." Ang Lee's smile seemed a little ridiculous.

"What about you?" Yan Xiaoyi felt a little chilly for some reason. It was not because of the cold outside the carriage, but because of the fear of not being able to see the road ahead. "Is this why you went to see Ku He?"

Li An thought about it carefully and gave an affirmative answer: "I will not be wrong in this regard. To be precise, I have several different successful cases for the laws of development in the dynasty stage. I can barely be considered to have experience, right? As for Ku He, his brilliance is too great for Qi State, so I asked him to build momentum for me and sweep him out. I believe he also saw this clearly and did not refuse."

"We're almost at the main hall!"

Li An stretched his body.

After a while, the carriage stopped. Just as Li An was about to get off the carriage, he heard Yan Xiaoyi's voice again: "If the emperor rejected you today because of the obstruction of the ministers, or if Ku He rejected you that day, what would you do?"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only did Li An pause in his movement to get out of the car, but even Yan Shendu looked anxious and wanted to hold his father back.

"First of all, this situation will not happen." Li An set the tone for the matter and replied indifferently: "If Ku He refuses, there will be no Tianyi Dao; of course, if the Zhan family refuses, there will be no little emperor, and there will only be Madam Li."

The wind and snow poured into the carriage, but were stopped by an invisible wall. It had no choice but to turn around and rush out.

Li An got off the carriage with a lot on his mind and walked up the stairs to the hall above.

He had long been tired of the days like those in Qing Kingdom, the feeling of being threatened all the time. Since he had the life to start over, he could only act according to his own wishes, and the Grandmaster's cultivation and young age were his greatest help.

At the same time, one's own disciples and followers like Yan Xiaoyi are one of the conditions for success.

The three men walked slowly into the hall, without any stain on their bodies. They did not stand at the doorway like other officials, shaking off the snow and wind on their shoulders. This made those officials very envious, and they slightly stopped looking down on the warriors.

At least, this aspect is quite convenient.

Sean no longer concealed his tracks because of Shen Zhong's escape, and today he appeared in the court with his adopted son Uesugi Huer.

Seeing Li Ang coming, he and Uesugi Tora came over to greet him and nodded vaguely.

Li An put aside his thoughts at this time and finally smiled. He took the sword box that Yan Shendu helped to carry and placed it on the ground, and responded: "Master Xiao, has your body recovered?"

"Recovering well!"

"That's good!" Li An nodded, "Master Xiao, you should start preparing to take over the newly opened government office - Black Ice Terrace!"

Chapter 176: The court is full of intrigue.

"Haha, isn't this Master Xiao En? I never thought I'd be able to see you again alive. Back then, my rank was still low, and I had to look up to you to see you!"

The one who spoke was the Minister of Rites. His words attracted many people to join in the conversation.

"Humph, it's been seventeen years, I didn't expect he's still alive."

"It would be fine if he wasn't dead, but now that he's become an old ghost, why would he return to the court?"

"I think they are reluctant to give up their power. The Jinyiwei have already changed hands one after another, and some people are still living in a dream. It's really pitiful!"

Upon hearing this, Sean smiled shyly and modestly, his eyes almost narrowed into slits, and he simply replied: "I am not so easy to kill. Not only that, in my opinion, everyone is different and has their own value. When a person has no value, even if he is in a high position, he can only end up in disgrace. On the contrary, when a person still has value, even if he is in a trough, he can still make a comeback!"

The person who made the joke just now didn't take it seriously, and some even sneered out loud with a mocking look.

Uesugi Tora was so angry that he almost tore these rubbishes to pieces for his adoptive father, but was stopped by Sean. Uesugi Tora was no longer the arrogant general he had been a dozen years ago. He looked at Li An and his sword cases respectfully, and stopped his actions wisely, only saying sarcastically, "You guys will suffer in the future!"

Seeing that Sean and Shangshanhu had surrendered, the court officials returned to their ranks as victors. The orders from their backers made them cheer up today, and they were eager to fight.

"Adoptive father, why are you stopping me?" Shangshan Hu whispered beside Xiao En. In his opinion, it was His Majesty who summoned Xiao En to the palace today, and he must be re-employing his adoptive father, so why should he be afraid of anything? Shangshan Hu knew that those officials had people behind them, but his adoptive father was extremely intelligent and vicious, and with his own help, he didn't have to worry about what his enemies thought.

As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. The two have been together for many years, and although they are not like biological children, they are better than biological children. Sean has long understood the other party's temperament and thoughts. He said calmly: "When playing chess with others, some people are very skilled in chess, while others play like children. Do you know which of these two opponents is more terrifying?"

"I think it's the former."

"You haven't made much progress in all these years since I was away from you!" Sean touched the scar on his wrist, and there was a hint of disappointment in his tone. He gave the answer as if explaining: "The most terrifying one is naturally the latter!"

Uesugi Tora lowered his head, his eyes drooping: "I am sorry to disappoint my foster father."

Sean shook his head, and inexplicably thought of his old rival Chen Pingping. He said calmly, "I'm not disappointed, but I want you to understand. The former is indeed terrible, just like Chen Pingping to the State of Qi; while the latter has nothing else, but still has the ability and courage to overturn the chessboard, and a childish urchin is also likely to do so!"

"Just like Mr. Li to Qi!"

Uesugi Tora looked at the sword box thoughtfully.

The people playing chess were the descendants of the Zhan family and the overbearing Emperor Qing of the Southern Dynasty. Although the young emperor seemed so effeminate to Shangshan Hu, he still retained some of the heroic spirit left over from the time of Marshal Zhan Qingfeng! He was able to strengthen the national strength of Qi during his reign, and we can also see some of his methods.

Now that Li An and his followers have joined the game and are able to compete with Nanqing, Shangshan Hu will naturally not be stingy with his strength to contribute to Northern Qi.

Perhaps he had been controlled by others before because of his adoptive father, but now he was willing to do so.

People have always admired the strong.

Ku He is strong, but he is too old.

······

"The Emperor has arrived!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Ann!"

Zhan Doudou walked out quickly like a dragon and a tiger, and sat on the dragon chair that looked like a royal chair. Looking at Li An below, he smiled unconsciously and said softly, "My dear ministers, please stand up!"

She waved her hand, signaling the eunuch to give Li An a seat.

After all, he was the imperial master of the dynasty, and with the martial arts skills of Grandmaster Li An, according to the treatment he had given Ku He in the past, a seat was essential. After hesitating for a moment, she ordered someone to give Sean a seat as well.

This move was the emperor's intention, and it could be regarded as an indirect way of winning over Uesugi Tora, and only after stability was achieved would he take back the military power.

As for the prime minister and the emperor's tutor who were like invisible people, no one cared about their thoughts.

The Queen Mother followed closely behind, and then appeared slowly as if she was late. Accompanied by Haitang Duoduo, who had just returned to the capital two days ago, the Queen Mother sat behind the curtain and said nothing.

Originally, she rarely intervened in the affairs of the court after the drama with Zhan Doudou ended, but today's situation was special, and she also showed her attitude for the officials who were sent out. First, it was to let them see the direction of the court, and second, it was to dispel the rumors of discord between the emperor and the empress, and to stabilize the local people's hearts.

The chief eunuch came out and, after singing praises, summarized the events of the previous year and expressed His Majesty's outlook for the coming year. After that, it was time for the ministers to perform.

"I, the Minister of Rites Mu Yun, impeach Xiao En for accepting bribes and deceiving the emperor; I impeach General Shangshan Hu for previously holding his own troops and disrespecting the emperor, colluding with the Southern Dynasty and committing acts of treason; I impeach the commander of the Jinyiwei, Wang Shisanlang, for condoning Jinyiwei subordinates to commit violence in the street and privately releasing suspects; and..."

"Impeach the Imperial Master Li An!"

"Exceeding your authority and bringing weapons to the palace!"

As soon as Mu Yun finished speaking, not only did those ministers who had previously echoed him in mocking Sean come out to respond, but even many neutral ministers in the front row and some officials from the Imperial Party and the rear party came out one after another and shouted in unison!

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

This scene was extremely bizarre. If one counted carefully, the number of people actually accounted for half of the officials who were qualified to attend the court.

A group of ministers who had come to Beijing from the localities to report on their work and some young officials who had just entered the court looked at this scene with confusion in their hearts, trembling like frightened birds.

Zhan Doudou rubbed his sore eyebrows. He was angry in his heart but smiled instead.

It wasn't that she had lost her judgment because she fell in love, but her observation of Li An during this period of time had allowed her to draw her own conclusions. Coupled with Ku He's letters, she still believed that the future described by Li An was more likely to be realized.

"Do you have anything to say, my four beloved ministers?"

Zhan Doudou asked with a frown, watching the eunuch Yu Wenyun who was accompanying him in deep thought.

"What happened before was just those people in the south trying to sell me out! How could I not know their sinister intentions?" Shangshan Tiger opened his tiger eyes, his mouth full of anger, and two breathtaking cold lights swept through the crowd from time to time. His voice was not loud, far from the level of roaring in the hall, but it was very deep, like putting a bronze bell next to his ear and ringing it, the sound resounded in the ears of the ministers.

"The truth is not in the loudness of the voice!" Mu Yun glanced at the figure above and said confidently: "The general knows whether he has done it or not. I have the letters in my hand that the general is colluding with the Princess of Qing. I think these are enough as evidence!"

Uesugi Tora frowned and was about to say something, but when he saw the indifferent expressions of his adoptive father and the national teacher, he understood what was going on and kept silent.

As for Wang Shisanlang, he was still happily fantasizing. It would be best if he could be dismissed from his post as the commander of the Jinyiwei, so as not to delay his sword practice. He didn't take it to heart at all.

After that, the imperial censor came forward and told the story of how Sean accepted bribes, how much, and how he colluded with the former commander Shen Zhong to fake his own death. At the same time, he also took out the letter from Shang Shanhu and the witness testimony of Wang Shisanlang who released the suspect privately.

As for Li An, they didn't say anything.

This group of censors did not know who had provided them with the evidence, but their duties forced them to do so today.

Chapter 177 Roof Removal Theory

The evidence presented by Mu Yun was enough to force ordinary officials to step down.

But for Ang Lee, there is no possibility or need to bring him down.

He came to help Northern Qi become stronger and make the people live better, not to waste time engaging in intrigue with people from different forces.

He wants to change the world.

After the censor had read out all the charges and evidence, he stood up and looked around without Zhan Doudou saying anything more. After a moment, he said loudly:

"I intend to use military force against the Kingdom of Qing after the spring!"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the audience was shocked!

"You can't do that! Your Majesty, these southerners are cunning and should not be underestimated!"

"Yes, we were defeated last year, and now the army has no morale at all. How can we start a war again?"

"Your Majesty, this Li An, the Imperial Master, is really delusional and talking nonsense! Our dynasty just signed a peace agreement with the Kingdom of Qing, and now it has been a year since they sent troops to attack them. Their repeated changes of orders will only make the world laugh at them!"

"How shameful! How shameful!"

All the court officials rushed to express their opinions and persuade the emperor, fearing that his majesty would be moved and listen to Li An's words.

How can Li An be called a national teacher? He is clearly the culprit who brings chaos to the world!

"Silence!" Yu Wenyun spoke in a stern voice, and at the same time used his true energy, but the direction was downwards.

The court officials then slowly calmed down, but their expressions were full of anxiety.

Zhan Doudou glanced across the crowd and saw Nanling County Governor Xiao Shitong. He said, "My dear Xiao, Nanling County where you are is closest to Qing State. Do you have any opinions? Is it feasible to go south?"

Xiao Shitong stepped out of the line and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty, I have the right to report that the military forces and supplies deployed by Nanling County are not enough to start a war against Qing Country, and the people under my jurisdiction are also in a state of panic and have no desire to fight. The people's will has reached this point, so please think twice!"

Zhan Doudou nodded, then turned to ask the Minister of Revenue He Suoqi: "My dear He, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I will tell you the truth!"

He Suoqi's face was bitter and his complexion was a little yellow. "The Ministry of Revenue has mobilized the domestic wealth and has no extra strength to use the army against Qing Kingdom!" In just a few words, he had already implicitly revealed the fact that the treasury was empty. "This is just for money and grain. As for the storage of weapons and armor, I think the Ministry of War will give the same answer."

Sure enough, the Minister of War gave the same answer.

No matter how you look at it, the conditions for using military force against the Kingdom of Qing cannot be met at the moment.

"Your Majesty, the words of Li An, the national teacher, are full of ill intentions. He is trying to drag our Qi country into the abyss! He is totally unruly and unfatherly."

"No need to say any more!"

Mu Yun was interrupted by Zhan Doudou before he could finish his words.