Xu Jing drank his wine and tapped the table. Soon, two more people appeared outside the door. "Come in."
"Yes, young master." The people who came were not others, but the two bodyguards given to him by Concubine Lin. One was the maid Xiangpu, and the other was the attendant Ling Yuan.
The two men, one in black and one in red, both bowed. Xu Jing said, "Ling Yuan, send Zhou Siheng back to the Zhou Mansion. Xiang Pu will stay."
"Yes, I'll do it now." Ling Yuan held Zhou Siheng and jumped out of the window and left.
Xiang Pu asked, "Young Master, what do you want from me?"
Xu Jing took out a token and examined it carefully. "My mother has a military unit in her possession. Do you know about it?"
"I know." Every noble family maintains a retinue of soldiers, and Concubine Lin is no exception. After she entered the palace, the retinue of soldiers was handed over to the head of the Lin family, Lin Guangmao. To summon the retinue of soldiers, one must use the token in Xu Jing's hand. "Summon them, I have urgent needs. Remember not to let the news leak out."
"Yes, I obey your command." Xiangpu took the token and stood up to leave.
"Wait a minute." Xu Jing asked, "Who is currently leading the troops?"
Xiang Pu said, "The two brothers Jin Zihan and Jin Ziyan are leading the team."
"Just call them over, go and come back quickly."
Xiang Pu was efficient, bringing the two Jin brothers within a short time. Jin Ziyan was a burly, uncouth man, while Jin Zihan, in contrast, looked like a scholar with rosy lips and white teeth. Each of them greeted Xu Jing, who said, "Please sit down. I have summoned you to discuss important matters. How well do you understand the connections among the aristocratic families of the capital?"
The Lin family, the original owner's maternal family, was a family of scholars. Their ancestors had a great scholar who taught many students. It could be said that most officials in the Southern Liang Dynasty today had a teacher-student relationship with the great scholar. It was only after three generations that the atmosphere in the court changed.
Old Lady Lin, also known as Consort Lin's mother, gave birth to two sons and a daughter. The eldest son had no interest in fame and went into business, while the second son, Lin Guangmao, was of mediocre talent. If he had not relied on Consort Lin to marry the emperor, he would not have been able to climb to the position of Minister of Rites.
The other two concubines had children, one serving as a county governor in Hangzhou, and the other following the eldest son in business. It can be said that the Lin family had already fallen on hard times by the time of Lin Guangmao's generation. The resources earned by Lin Guangmao for Xu Jing were really not much.
Lin Guangmao's second wife, Li, was the concubine daughter of Li Mingren, the Minister of Personnel. The Li family was prominent, with many members serving in the imperial court. Unfortunately, Li's status as a concubine meant she had limited resources. Otherwise, having Li as a connection would have provided Xu Jing with considerable support.
Besides the Lin family, Prince Zhuang's maternal family, the Zhangs, were a prominent military family that rivaled the Empress's maternal family, the Shens, at court. The Zhangs had served as imperial advisors, and as long as they chose not to commit suicide, Emperor Zhaodi would not take action against them. Unlike the Zhangs, who had only recently joined the imperial family, the Shens were founding figures and had produced a number of kings. By the time of Emperor Zhaodi, even if the Shens were no longer powerful, they were still a powerful force. Emperor Zhaodi's marriage to Empress Shen consolidated his imperial power.
The Shen family and the Lin family had previously intermarried, but unfortunately, by the time of Concubine Lin, the two families had ceased to interact. The Empress had always maintained a neutral position in the court, and whoever became Emperor had no influence on her. She was still the Empress Dowager and could enjoy her old age in peace. However, the situation was different for the Shen family, to which the Empress belonged.
The Shen family had been suppressed by the Zhang family for years, and their children were no match for them. To consolidate their position, the Shen family even sent a concubine, Xiao Shen, to the emperor. Unfortunately, Xiao Shen was not up to the task and died young in the harem.
Xu Jing thought that if he could have a good relationship with the Shen family, he would be able to gain a lot of help.
The best way to gain the Shen family's support was through marriage. However, a marriage with the Shen family would inevitably arouse the emperor's suspicion. After much deliberation, Xu Jing decided to give up the Shen family and focus on the Zhang family.
Xu Jing asked Jin Ziyan to continue training his troops, while Jin Zihan went to work with Xiang Pu on intelligence. As for Ling Yuan, he stayed by Xu Jing's side as a bodyguard.
While Xu Jing was busy expanding his power, Xie Yunxiu, through the Zhang family's connections, went to the Ministry of War for training. With the Zhang family paving the way behind him, Xie Yunxiu's path was very smooth.
It was three days later that Prince Chen Xie Liangchen received the news. Upon learning that Xie Yunxiu had established himself in the Ministry of War, Xie Liangchen was furious and smashed a lot of porcelain.
In Xie Liangchen's view, of all Emperor Zhao's sons, only Xie Yunxiu posed the greatest threat. He had long wanted to eliminate Xie Yunxiu, but unfortunately, he had never been able to find any evidence against him. He had originally planned to eliminate the King of Qin first to put pressure on Xie Yunxiu. In the end, he ended up losing more than he gained, and he ended up ruining himself. It was truly a loss.
Xie Liangchen couldn't allow Xie Yunxiu to continue to grow more powerful, so he arranged for people from the Shen family to teach Xie Yunxiu a lesson.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yunxiu turned around and told Xu Jing about the Shen family's troublemaking.
"The Shen family belongs to Prince Chen?" Xu Jing thought, wasn't Prince Chen's mother, Consort Wang, a relative of the Shen family? Prince Chen had been scheming for years, and his network of connections was far greater than that of the rising star. It wasn't surprising that he could connect with the Shen family.
Xie Yunxiu also knew that he absolutely could not break off relations with the Shen family at this moment. If he fought the Shen family like a black-eyed chicken, it would only benefit Prince Chen and Prince Chu. After calming down, Xie Yunxiu still didn't know what to do next, so he threw the problem to Xu Jing. "Fifth brother, what should I do?"
"Request for external transfer."
Xie Yunxiu's eyes lit up, and he stood up to leave, but was stopped by Xu Jing. "It's the Shen family, not you."
"Why?" Xie Yunxiu looked confused.
"If you're transferred out, wouldn't that play into the Emperor's uncle's hands? It wouldn't be easy for him to deal with you when the time comes, as the Emperor is far away?" Xu Jing patted Xie Yunxiu's shoulder and continued, "I'll have my mother talk to the Empress later. After the Shen family members are moved out, the Emperor's uncle won't dare to do anything to you."
"That's it." Xie Yunxiu said with a smile, "Fifth brother is really smart. He solved my urgent problem."
Xu Jing smiled and said, "Ninth brother, I have something I need your help with."
Xie Yunxiu curled his lips and said, "Fifth brother, you are being too formal. If you have something to say, just tell me. Why are you being so fussy?"
"Go and ask Lord Zhou to transfer Zhou Siheng to the Ministry of Revenue. It's a waste of Zhou Siheng's talent to stay in the Ministry of Rites. Instead of letting him stay here doing nothing, why not find him something to do?"
Xie Yunxiu smiled and said, "If you want to find him something to do, why not let him go to the Ministry of Works? It just so happens that the Emperor has ordered the renovation of an imperial palace. How about letting him be the supervisor?"
"That's fine." Xu Jing also smiled. "But if Lord Zhou knew about this, he'd be furious. He's your cousin after all, so if you can help him, then give him a hand. If he becomes successful, he can be a great help to both of us in the future, right?"
"Okay. I'll help him out for your sake."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
