Chapter 272: Clearing the Court
Han Palace.
The middle-aged man looked at the King of Han and said, "This is a wise choice. If you get rid of Li Xuanjing, the King of Chun will no longer be a concern. You should have done this a long time ago."
Since the decision had been made, the King of Han no longer hesitated and asked, "What should I do specifically?"
The middle-aged man said, "The other princes and the dignitaries in Chang'an need the Han Palace to unite, and leave the rest to us."
The King of Han asked, "Under what name shall we unite them?"
The middle-aged man said in a deep voice: "Clear the emperor's side!"
The King of Han sat on the chair, tapping the table lightly with his index finger.
Although clearing out the imperial court is a good reason, it is based on the premise of going against the emperor's wishes. No emperor would want to be coerced by his subjects.
If things go well, then naturally it would be good. Getting rid of Li Xuanjing would be equivalent to deposing Prince Chun.
But if it fails, the consequences will be very serious.
All actions launched in the name of clearing the court of corrupt officials have always resulted in massive bloodshed and sacrifice, regardless of whether they were successful or not.
However, under the coercion of the Wang family, he had no other choice.
Soon, they arrived at Prince You's Mansion.
King You was startled and asked, "What? Clear the court of the emperor?"
The King of Han asked, "Why, you don't dare?"
King You did not answer directly, but asked: "Are you sure the Wang family will help you?"
The King of Han said: "Li Xuanjing killed Wang Heng, which completely angered the Wang family. They came here this time to avenge Wang Heng. This is a rare opportunity. How we fight to get rid of Li Xuanjing is our own business..."
King You's eyes moved slightly.
Although the Wang family is far away in Jinyang, their power in Chang'an cannot be underestimated. Many court officials have direct or indirect relationships with the Wang family.
The princes, together with the powerful and influential people and the power of the Wang family, are indeed a great opportunity to overthrow Li Xuanjing.
He made a prompt decision and said, "Okay, with the help of the Wang family, why should I be afraid?"
The King of Han continued, "With our strength, it would be great if we could add Li Rui. However, I have had a grudge against Li Rui recently, so you should go and persuade him."
King You said: "Then you go to Prince Gong's Mansion. Although it won't play a big role, it will still be helpful in building momentum. As for Prince Xin, Prince Xuan, and Prince Ji, you can also go there. It would be best if they agree, but it doesn't matter if they don't agree. The key is still the Wang family..."
After a while, the King of Han left King You's mansion, and King You also left the mansion soon after.
In the Prince Rui's mansion, Prince Rui looked at Prince You in surprise and asked uncertainly, "Purge the court of the emperor, are you going to kill Li Xuanjing?"
King You nodded and said, "The Wang family is willing to help this time. This is a golden opportunity. If you are willing to help, our chances of success will increase by at least 10%. You have suffered the most at the hands of Li Xuanjing, so you probably don't want him to live any longer, right?"
King Rui shook his head and said, "Go ahead and do it. I support you in my heart."
King You raised his eyebrows and asked, "In your heart?"
Prince Rui spread his hands and said helplessly, "I have been wronged twice. Once I was wrongly accused of assassinating Li Xuanjing, and once I was wrongly accused of scheming against the King of Han. First I was retaliated by Li Xuanjing, and then by the King of Han. I don't have many people left to use. Even if I want to help, I can't. I can only support you from the bottom of my heart..."
King You glanced at him and thought that what King Rui said were all excuses.
Behind him are two aristocratic families, the Cui family and the Pei family. The combined influence of the Cui and Pei families in the court is even greater than that of the Wang family.
If Prince Rui is willing to persuade these two families, this time there will be no chance of failure.
He never expected that he, who should have hated Li Xuanjing the most, would back off instead.
King You tried to persuade King Rui in every possible way, but King Rui refused to give in, so King You had no choice but to leave.
After Prince You left, a feminine young man stepped forward and asked Prince Rui, "Your Highness, why don't you agree to Prince You's request? This is the best time to get rid of Li Xuanjing..."
Prince Rui picked up a folding fan, unfolded it and shook it, saying, "Why should I agree? If Li Xuanjing falls, I will not be the one who benefits the most. Without him, who can restrain the King of Han and the King of You? It is best to let him live, but not too well..."
The feminine young man suddenly realized and said with respect: "Your Highness is wise!"
night.
Prince You's Palace.
The King of Han frowned and asked, "Li Rui refused?"
King You nodded and said, "I tried my best to convince him, but still failed. How is the situation on your side?"
The King of Han also shook his head and said, "Prince Gong said he would not get involved in these matters. Prince Xin, Prince Xuan and Prince Ji agreed, but they can't play any role..."
Among the princes, only King Han, King You, King Rui, and King Chun possess relatively strong power.
Prince Gong has never been competitive. Prince Xin, Prince Xuan and Prince Ji are too young. Having them is icing on the cake, and not having them will not affect the outcome.
King You waved his hand and said, "Forget it. Even if King Rui is not here, you, me and the Wang family are enough..."
…
Chang'an Street.
In a teahouse.
"I heard that day in the Zongzheng Temple, the Dali Temple Minister just said one sentence, and scared the Zongzheng Shaoqing into handing over the murderer of his son. How domineering!"
"What else can we do if he doesn't hand it over? The Junior Official of the Imperial Clan used to be a powerful official, but not anymore. It would be very easy for the Junior Official of the Imperial Clan to destroy his family and make him rich and powerful."
"Not really, the Junior Secretary of the Zongzheng clan is a high-ranking official of the fourth rank!"
"So what if he is a fourth-rank official? He has killed more than one fourth-rank official."
"Not only the fourth-rank officials, he even dared to kill the Confucianists of the fourth realm, and nothing happened to him. No wonder the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Clan is afraid of him..."
"How could your majesty allow such a person to hold a high position..."
"Hush, you dare to say such things, you don't want to live anymore!"
Several guests who were stopping for a break and drinking tea were chatting beside the tea stall. Someone brought up the topic of Dali Temple Minister Li Xuanjing, which caused everyone to murmur.
For the common people, although they have all heard that Li Xuanjing, the Minister of Dali Temple, is the biggest corrupt official in the court, such a big shot is too far away from them.
What the other party did had more of an impact on the court and had little to do with the people.
But as a commoner of Da Xia, who doesn’t want the court to become better? When talking about this matter, it is inevitable to make some comments.
It was not until someone reminded them that they stopped talking and left in a hurry.
He has spies all over Chang'an. If someone heard such words, his life would be in danger.
Qingfeng Academy.
A group of young students gathered in the classroom to chat during their spare time.
"The current imperial court is truly corrupt!"
"The emperor is incompetent and corrupt officials are in power. Where is the future of the country?"
"As big countries, Chu, Qi, Zhao, and Wei, which one is like our Great Xia? I am really worried that if things continue like this, Great Xia will end up being annexed by them..."
"Alas, it's a pity that we are powerless and can't do anything."
"If we can unite more people, I think the court will pay attention to it. We should jointly submit a petition to the court to punish the treacherous officials. I am willing to be the first to sign the petition. Who of you is willing to follow me?"
"I am willing. As a scholar, I should be the first in the world!"
"Count me in!"
"Count me in, too!"
…
Yuyin Pavilion.
Phoenix walked into the room on the second floor and saw an old woman sitting at the table. She asked, "What do you want me to do?"
The old woman looked at her and asked, "You haven't forgotten that Yuyin Pavilion is where you should be, right? Do you really regard the Li Mansion as your home?"
Fenghuang glanced at her. She really wanted to treat the Li Mansion as her home.
There are not so many things to do. I spend every day with my beautiful wife Yiren and An Ning, painting, embroidering, and discussing the art of playing the zither with Li Nuo. I also learn swordsmanship from him. My life is leisurely and comfortable.
Fenghuang didn't answer her, but asked directly: "What's the matter? I'm still busy. If there's nothing urgent, I'll go back first."
Li Nuo was teaching Yiren a new set of sword techniques. There were still a few things she didn't understand. Before she could learn it, Nightingale called her back.
The old woman said, "I'm afraid you won't be able to stay in the Li Mansion for long."
Phoenix was slightly stunned and asked, "Why?"
The old woman said calmly, "In the past few days, the wind in Chang'an has not been right. Someone must be building momentum, and their target is Li Xuanjing. Since the people from the Jinyang Wang family came to Chang'an, their movements have been extremely frequent, involving several princes, a group of dignitaries and court officials. I think they should be preparing to take action against Li Xuanjing..."
The Jinyang royal family began to frequently contact officials in the court.
The powerful and influential people also frequently came and went from the palaces of the King of Han and the King of You.
Some people began to incite public opinion, targeting Li Xuanjing.
Although his reputation among the people was not good to begin with, someone was clearly trying to manipulate public opinion in the past few days, and their intentions were extremely obvious.
This is what they are best at, so they are also the most sensitive to it.
There is no way these people did everything without a purpose.
Phoenix frowned and said in a deep voice: "They want to purge the emperor's side!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
