Chapter 842 Backstab
Feng Qiuli's words not only failed to appease everyone, but made their faces even uglier.
That old fellow Yin Bao has been guarding Munan Pass for more than ten years. If it weren't for his old age and the fear of the deposed emperor, he would never have returned to the court. Everyone in the court knows how great his influence in the south is. Among the military generals, he is more like Liang Guangyi and Cao Dejiang.
Not to mention Xiao Jinan and his son. He was Xiao Yan's "uncle," half his "father" and brother...
Min An's face trembled with anger: "He killed Yin Bao and captured the Xiao family father and son. Who would believe that it was an accidental injury?"
Cen Guang might as well have just said that he wanted to rebel!
His actions are no different from rebellion!!
The Fan family members turned to look at Liang Guangyi: "Prime Minister Liang, isn't Cen Guang your man? What exactly does he mean? He didn't even inform the capital before taking action. Does he want to put our families to death by taking action so suddenly?!"
Liang Guangyi's eyes darkened immediately: "Are you questioning me?"
He looked at them expressionlessly, "At first, I told you not to move, but you insisted on making a scene. Later, when I tried to settle things peacefully, you refused to give in. I had no choice but to help you clean up your mess. I was forced to be in the same boat with you. Now that something's wrong, you come to question me?"
There was indifference in his eyes, and he was about to say "Who do you think you are?" The man from the Fan family who had just asked the question turned pale and blue in his face, and Min An and others also looked unhappy.
Shi Qingrong, who had been released, saw that the atmosphere was about to collapse. Since this was not the time for internal strife, and they could not offend the most intelligent Liang Guangyi, he quickly spoke:
"Brother Fan didn't mean that. He was just too shocked by what happened at Munan Pass and panicked for a moment. Everyone knows what Liang Xiang did for the family, so how could they suspect you of selfish motives?"
After Shi Qingrong finished speaking, he looked at Feng Qiuli, wanting him to persuade him.
Feng Qiuli had no choice but to speak, "Prime Minister, Lord Fan and the others are too impatient. Cen Guang acted suddenly, and the chaos at Munan Pass has rendered all our previous arrangements useless. The most important thing right now is to discuss how to deal with the next situation. Otherwise, if the news spreads, we will all be doomed."
Everyone present knew exactly what Feng Qiuli meant, and was also unnerved by his words "there's no return".
They originally had great power in the capital, and even had the upper hand in the contest with the Queen. The Queen had no intention of fighting them to the death, and had already agreed to allow several people from the aristocratic families to return to important positions in the court. She even made many concessions in the court. The situation seemed to be going well, but when the incident at Mu Nan Pass happened, all the advantages they had created before were destroyed in an instant.
Xiao Yan was seriously injured and missing, Yin Bao died, Xiao Jinan and his son were captured, and Cen Guang seized the military power of Munan Pass, which was tantamount to rebellion.
Once the news spreads, not to mention the turmoil in the capital, the Queen will be the first one to turn against them after she finds out.
Without Xiao Yan's "restraint" while being trapped in Southern Qi, the apparent peace in the court would vanish in an instant. The Queen would surely take over the capital with lightning speed. She would no longer have any scruples and would start a bloodbath. It would be difficult for their families to compete with her, and they would probably end up dead without a burial place.
Liang Guangyi suppressed his anger after listening to Feng Qiuli's words and said in a deep voice, "I have been sending letters to the southern border for a while now, and I have repeatedly told Cen Guang not to act without authorization. I also told him not to touch Yin Bao and others."
"If the incident at Munan Pass wasn't an accident, Cen Guang would have already found another master."
Min An was stunned for a moment: "You mean, someone is plotting against us?"
Liang Guangyi said expressionlessly, "Have you ever met King Hui during this period?"
Several people from the aristocratic families were all stunned. They had their own motives when they joined forces with King Hui. They wanted to make profits for the aristocratic families and restore their former prosperity. What King Hui wanted was completely different from them. He wanted to replace the emperor.
At that time, the queen was pushing them too hard, so they wanted to unite with their relatives, so they made such a bold promise to King Hui. They also thought that if they could change the emperor as a last resort, it would be a good thing for them.
But later on, the aristocratic families gained the upper hand, and the queen was defeated step by step. They gained benefits in the court, and they could get what they wanted without going to the last step. Naturally, the people of the aristocratic families were unwilling to take risks and commit treason.
After the noble family went back on their word, the plan agreed upon by both sides naturally aborted.
King Hui urged them to take action several times, but they just evaded the question. Later, they made all kinds of excuses to avoid seeing King Hui, and the two sides were almost at loggerheads.
Shi Qingrong spoke with some difficulty: "Are you saying that Cen Guang defected to King Hui?"
"How is that possible!" Min An said, "How could King Hui possibly convince Cen Guang? The Cen family is still under our control, and Cen Guang is far away at Munan Pass. How could King Hui subdue him and let him do such a life-threatening thing without caring about the lives of his wife and children?"
Liang Guangyi didn't say anything, but Feng Qiuli hesitated and asked, "Have you seen Duan Zhiru and the others recently?"
The expressions of the few people who were angry just now froze.
They were busy fighting for power in the court, busy suppressing the queen, and busy seeking a future for themselves and their clan under such a good situation. How could they have time to care about Duan Zhiru and others? Although those people facilitated their "cooperation" with King Hui, they had already been abandoned by the clan and secretly disobeyed the emperor's order to return to the capital.
Even if the aristocratic family had the upper hand in the battle with the queen, Duan Zhiru and others would not appear in the capital openly, and they would not spend a lot of effort to send the three people back to the court, so they didn't pay much attention to them. Now that they think about it, it seems that they haven't seen Duan Zhiru and the other two since Shi Qingrong came out.
Feng Qiuli whispered, "It's true that Prince Hui can't subdue Cen Guang, but Duan Zhiru and the others know Cen Guang's weaknesses, and they also know where the Cen family is. If..."
Before he could finish his words, the faces of the people present had already turned completely pale.
Cen Guang was not from a noble family, and he could be controlled by them because his weak point was in their hands. After the war in Southern Qi broke out, they "protected" the Cen family just in case, so as to ensure that they had their confidants in the south who could compete with the emperor and empress. But if Cen Guang's family was taken away.
Since Cen Guang could obey them because of his weakness, he could naturally obey King Hui because of his weakness.
Moreover, they also understood the key point at this time. The earliest cooperation partners of King Hui were Duan Zhiru and the other two. The three were ambitious and it was not for the sake of the aristocratic family. After they were forced to board the pirate ship and got the benefits, they turned their backs on them and abandoned King Hui. Naturally, King Hui and his men could burn their boats and force them to take action.
There was a rebellion at Munan Pass and Xiao Yan was missing. If they didn't take action, they would only wait for death.
King Hui and others were forcing them.
Liang Guangyi said coldly, "I've told you all long ago not to provoke King Hui. Who in the royal family doesn't have ambition? He's been obedient for so many years simply because of the situation. Now that you've aroused his ambitions, how could he possibly let it go?"
"He's totally crazy..."
When everyone in the room was trembling with fear, there was a knock on the door. After a moment, someone stood outside the door and said in a low voice:
"Prime Minister, Prince Hui is here."
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