Zhang Xiren said in a deep voice, "I will make sure he meets the requirements."
"I'm just curious, Grand Commander Yang, how did you guess I was going to make a move and prepare in advance?"
Yang Cheng said calmly, "If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. Grand Secretary Zhang, you've been a 'good person' your whole life, and now you're suddenly acting like a 'bad person.' There are some things you're not doing well enough."
How could you not leak information when you were doing something so important and didn't completely shut down the news and silence everyone who needed to be silenced?
Jiang Xuerou, that little girl, has been molded too naively by you, her mind is full of thoughts of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.
I told her that the world has black and white, but no good or bad. See, it's come true, isn't it?
When she discovered that her revered and respected scholar, Zhang, might be plotting to assassinate the emperor and rebel, she was extremely conflicted, fearing that she had guessed wrong.
So, while registering the martial artists of the Heavenly Sword Sect, she told me about your invitation to the Shaolin Temple to come to the capital to celebrate His Majesty's birthday.
"You've become suspicious of me just because of this one thing?"
Yang Cheng nodded naturally and said, "That's right, it's because of this one thing."
It's true that you, Grand Scholar Zhang, have good relations with many powerful martial arts sects, but given your personality, you shouldn't be eager to link the martial arts world with the imperial court.
The Heavenly Sword Sect helped you because the sect leader did it intentionally, not because you asked for it.
But in the end, it was probably because the Heavenly Sword Sect backed out at the last minute that you switched to cooperating with the Shaolin Temple, but unfortunately this move was too abrupt.
So when the Shaolin Temple entered the city, I took the initiative to provoke them, forcing the Shaolin people to take action.
And as expected, you, Grand Secretary Zhang, took the bait, personally trying to smooth things over, even going so far as to submit to me, this 'treacherous minister,' which is unlike you, Grand Secretary Zhang.
Furthermore, I specifically had someone investigate your recent movements, Grand Secretary Zhang. I discovered that you actually chose to cede interests in order to have Cai Yan order the Ministry of War to suppress the Thirty-Six Great Bandits, which is even more unlike your character.
The Thirty-Six Great Bandits were at most roving bandits, not madmen like the Holy Duke Zhang Liang. This scale of encirclement and suppression would only drive the Thirty-Six Great Bandits even crazier, and would bring no benefit whatsoever.
Grand Secretary Zhang, you are a man of great learning and a master of military strategy. In your youth, you even personally led troops to suppress rebels. You must know something so simple, yet you still did it.
"A leopard can't change its spots. Grand Secretary Zhang, you've done so many things against your nature; aren't you worthy of suspicion?"
Zhang Xiren's face turned ashen, and he shook his head with a bitter smile, saying, "I never expected that my plan would have so many flaws in front of you, Grand Commander Yang."
However, the die was cast and the arrow had to be released; the Great Zhou Dynasty had no time to delay any longer.
Grand Commander Yang, you have prepared your trump card, but how do you know that I haven't?
"Of the twelve captains of the Imperial Guards, seven were promoted by me. By now, they should have already captured three of the palace gates, right?"
"Imperial Guard Captain? Grand Scholar Zhang, are you sure those pampered good-for-nothings are any good?"
No sooner had Yang Cheng finished speaking than Zhang Meng, Chen Da, and Yin Wuxie arrived from the direction of the three palace gates with a group of black-clad guards from the Zhenwu Hall, each carrying several severed heads.
Chen Da laughed loudly, "Boss, these trash dared to storm the palace gates? I smashed their heads with one blow!"
Zhang Xiren's expression changed, and his face turned even more ashen.
He turned to a young monk with rosy lips and white teeth, put his hands together, and said in a deep voice, "Master Xuanji, the future of the Great Zhou Dynasty is in your hands. I didn't expect that in the end I would still need your help."
The young monk shook his head and said, "Scholar Zhang, you are too kind. Now that I have come, it means that Shaolin Temple has entrusted its future to you."
The struggle for orthodoxy is greater than life and death. I only hope that when the new emperor ascends the throne, he will not forget the position of Shaolin Temple as the state religion.
The young monk, with his rosy lips and white teeth, spoke in a very old and hoarse voice. With each step he took, the aura around him suddenly changed!
Originally, the young monk seemed to know no martial arts, but at this moment his appearance became more and more old, from a boy to a young man, then to a middle-aged man, and finally transformed into a hunchbacked old monk with an old face, looking like he was eighty or ninety years old.
However, as he aged, his aura became incredibly profound. In the end, the powerful sense of oppression he exuded was even stronger than that of the guru Baosheng Batu of the Vajra Minglun Temple!
The Fairy Tree Romance
At this moment, Yin Wuxie suddenly thought of something and shouted, "Boss, be careful!"
Xuanji is the senior brother of Xuanbei, the previous abbot of Shaolin Temple, and is in charge of the most mysterious Bodhi Zen Hall in Shaolin Temple.
But that was decades ago; the old monk would be over a hundred years old now!
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