Chapter 614 The Biggest Trump Card

Emperor Jingming was not embarrassed by having his thoughts exposed, and said shamelessly: "What else could it be? It's naturally Uncle Yong. What do you think he wants to do?"

Zhao Shen flipped open another folder and said expressionlessly, "I'm not him, so how can I know what he wants to do?"

He could probably guess what Prince Yong was thinking, but it was obvious that that was not what the emperor wanted to hear.

Sure enough, just as he finished speaking, he heard the other party say, "You've seen the memorial. If it's true that he's colluding with Mobei, then we can still deal with it. But getting the support of the Jiangnan family will be a bit troublesome."

Daxia's capital is in the north, so its control over the south of the Yangtze River is relatively weaker.

But after so many years on the throne, Emperor Jingming finally realized that Jiangnan could not be ignored.

Especially some of the aristocratic families in Jiangnan, who controlled the power openly or secretly, and even he did not dare to resist them.

He only recently discovered that the Jiangnan officialdom was corrupt, but because of the protection of local tyrants, everything was kept secret.

If Emperor Jingming had not put in the effort to investigate those people, he would not have discovered the relationship between Prince Yong and the Jiangnan nobles.

He couldn't help but feel scared. If he hadn't discovered it early, with the planning that King Yong had done over the years, it would only be a matter of time before he was replaced.

Zhao Shen's focus was different. "The support of the Jiangnan nobles is probably Prince Yong's biggest trump card. Although he has been in hiding, he has almost revealed everything that should be revealed. Now, it's time for us to strike back."

"Fight back?" The emperor was puzzled. "He has been hiding in the dark. We don't even know what he will do next. How can we fight back?"

Zhao Shen's eyes swept across the map not far away and finally fell on the location of Yongzhou.

"He gave up his fiefdom too easily, and we haven't found any problems in Yongzhou in all these years. Obviously, the core of Prince Yong's power is not in Yongzhou. After his rebellion was exposed, our people didn't find anything in Yongzhou, right?"

Emperor Jingming: "Yes."

Zhao Shen continued, "Then where is his main power?"

Emperor Jingming: "Where is it?"

Zhao Shen could no longer bear it: "The brain is a good thing, please use it."

Emperor Jingming was somewhat dissatisfied. He was the emperor and had so many people under him, especially someone as smart as Zhao Shen.

He could get the correct answer by just asking, so why did he have to think for himself?

So he looked at Zhao Shen with some resentment in his eyes, but in the end he still didn't say "I just don't want to use my brain".

After a moment's thought, the answer became obvious: "Jiangnan."

Zhao Shen nodded. "While Prince Yong has been quiet these days, send a group of people to investigate Jiangnan's situation. With the support of aristocratic families, this shouldn't be easy, so it's best to use people with clean identities who won't be easily discovered."

People who suddenly appear are often suspicious, especially at this time. Zhao Shen felt that those people must be on high alert.

The emperor had no objection to his words.

He said with some worry: "I am afraid that just like Suzhou, Jiangnan is no longer my Jiangnan.

Zhao Shen, however, was not worried: "The aristocratic families have been entrenched in Jiangnan for a long time. Haven't you been worrying about how to take action against them all these years? Now is the perfect opportunity."

Emperor Jingming: “…”

While he was still worrying about how to get rid of King Yong, Zhao Shen had already wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of the aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River.

Well, the differences between people are obvious.

Zhao Shen discussed state affairs with Emperor Jingming for a whole day, and only left the palace when it was getting late.

Ji Yunshu got the news and left the palace as well. The two of them rode in a carriage back home together.

Ji Yunshu noticed Zhao Shen's calm demeanor, no different from usual, so she asked curiously, "What did the Emperor say?"

Zhao Shen smiled and said, "Jingzhao Yin is a real position. I can't be absent all the time, so the emperor has appointed an acting Jingzhao Yin. As soon as I step down, the other person can take over directly."

"What about you?"

Ji Yunshu was not surprised. Zhao Shen had done a great job this time.

Before returning to Beijing, she had anticipated that his official position would change this time.

The Emperor had previously appointed Zhao Shen as Jingzhao Yin for the sake of Prince Yong and to investigate the spies planted by Prince Yong's mansion in the capital.

Now that Prince Yong has failed in the capital, his mission can be considered accomplished.

"The Emperor wants me to go to the Ministry of Works."

Ji Yunshu's eyes lit up: "Is that what I meant?"

Zhao Shen nodded: "The things you have people making are too important. The emperor doesn't trust others, so it's best for the Ministry of Works to be in your own hands."

Ji Yunshu said sourly: "The emperor really trusts you."

Zhao Shen rubbed her head: "What are you talking about? He doesn't trust you so that he can let you hold such an important thing in your hands?"

Speaking of which, Zhao Shen also found it strange that Emperor Jingming never took Ji Yunshu's idea lightly from the beginning.

Instead, we took it seriously and provided support.

Although I didn't give much money, some things are more important than money.

A word from the emperor is worth more than any amount of money.

He opened many convenient doors for Ji Yunshu, so Ji Yunshu's business in the capital was prosperous and he never dared to make trouble.

Ji Yunshu was about to ask how they could be the same, but when he thought about it carefully, there was actually no difference.

Now she and Zhao Shen are probably the same in the emperor's eyes.

They are all capable people.

"You're right. He really trusts you and me now, so he probably has some hidden plans for letting you go to the Ministry of Industry."

How could the emperor let such a useful person like Zhao Shen go to the Ministry of Works? He must have other plans for taking this step.

Zhao Shen tapped her forehead and said, "Of course not. The Emperor asked me to continue investigating Prince Yong's affairs. I'll be going to Prince Yong anyway, so let's just do it together."

Ji Yunshu couldn't understand how these two things were connected.

But she didn't care.

Anyway, Zhao Shen’s poison has not been cured yet, so the matter of Prince Yong should be dealt with without delay.

"Do you have any idea yet?"

Zhao Shen nodded: "Jiangnan."

Ji Yunshu was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted.

She had suspected that there was something wrong with Jiangnan before, and now it seemed to be true.

So he continued to ask, "Is it a noble family? Does the emperor really have no news?"

Zhao Shen said, "Prince Yong is in the dark now, and we are in the light. Even if there is any news, it may be released by him on purpose. So, just like before, we should investigate on our own first."

Ji Yunshu nodded and then changed the subject: "Let's not talk about Prince Yong for now. There's a lot of commotion in our mansion right now. Isn't it time to clean it up?"

Ji Yunshu was originally very excited and wanted to watch the tragic love story between the hero and heroine, but after seeing the uncertainty of life and death on the battlefield, she suddenly lost interest.

At this point, what happens to Zhao Heng and Yao Ruolan has nothing to do with her anymore.

She just wanted to get things over with as soon as possible.