Tan Wu sighed and shook his head helplessly.
The two hurried towards the Prime Minister's residence.
Upon arriving at the Prime Minister's residence, the two met with Sima Lie and recounted everything that had just happened in the Imperial Study.
Upon hearing their retelling, Sima Lie was so enraged that his beard trembled, and he roared and slapped them hard.
"Outrageous! How dare this tyrant mock me! He's trying to fob me off with 50,000 taels of silver! It's utterly despicable!"
"I wish I could lead my troops into the palace right now and kill this good-for-nothing!"
Upon hearing this, Ma Shangtao hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and hurriedly cupped his hands, saying, "Since the Prime Minister also thinks so, why don't we just rebel against him!"
Sima Lie was also tempted, but then hesitated.
Seeing everyone so enraged that they were shouting for blood, Qiu Beiming put down his teacup and shook his head slightly.
"Gentlemen, no matter how much dissatisfaction you have, now is definitely not the best time."
Ma Shangtao was taken aback. He asked, puzzled, "What makes you say that, Mr. Qiu?"
Qiu Beiming's eyes flickered, and after a long silence, he slowly spoke.
"First of all, Zhao Hu has now turned the tide and his power is even greater! As a result, we need the card of the tyrannical emperor even more to hold the emperor hostage and command the other lords. If we really kill the tyrannical emperor, it will only give Zhao Hu a pretext to clean up the emperor's inner circle."
These words immediately extinguished most of the anger in Sima Lie's heart.
The other three also frowned; what he said was indeed true.
Qiu Beiming paused for a moment before continuing, "Also, don't forget that Youzhou is about to face an attack from the Xiongnu. We must not let our rear be attacked again, otherwise it will be difficult to deal with if the Xiongnu rush in. So I advise you all to calm down and be patient for a while longer."
"The tyrant is beyond redemption. Letting him live a few more days will only benefit us."
After he finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.
A few minutes later, Sima Lie was the first to regain his senses, and his breathing returned to normal.
He cupped his hands in a cold gesture toward Qiu Beiming and said coldly, "What you say makes sense, sir. I was so angered by this tyrant that I almost gave Zhao Hu a chance."
Ma Shangtao and Tan Wu also realized what was happening and quickly echoed, flattering Qiu Beiming.
"You flatter me, Prime Minister."
Qiu Beiming returned the greeting with neither arrogance nor servility.
Since he wasn't going to take action, Sima Lie's mind worked quickly.
His eyes flickered with light, and he suddenly waved his hand, saying, "Butler!"
"This old servant is here."
The old steward immediately bowed and stepped forward. Sima Lie immediately ordered, "Send someone to inform Xiong Dao to raise one million taels of silver from the various properties of the Sima family. Also, gather ten thousand beautiful women and send them to the Xiongnu as soon as possible!"
Sima Xiongdao was his second son, unlike his bloodthirsty and warlike elder brother, Sima Xiongba. Sima Xiongdao was shrewd and extremely skilled in business. He controlled the iron mines in the northern state, and most of the Sima family's financial power was handled by him. He was also the middleman for Sima Lie and other high-ranking officials of the empire to bribe and communicate.
"yes!"
The old steward accepted the order and left.
Qiu Beiming looked at Sima Lie with appreciation, and then added, "Prime Minister, we can also have the eldest son, Sima Xiong Ba, guard the border of Youzhou, and prepare for the worst if the peace talks fail."
Sima Xiong has always held 300,000 elite border troops in his hands. If Princess Duoshuang insists on going her own way, they will still have the strength to fight!
"Yes, we'll do as Mr. Qiu says."
Sima Lie nodded in agreement.
Afterwards, the group discussed the specific plan in a hurry... After everything was explained, Sima Lie breathed a long sigh of relief, but as soon as he took a breath, he suddenly frowned, as if he remembered something!
It's Zhu Fei!
The newly appointed commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Although his previous behavior in the court was extremely comical, Sima Lie was by nature suspicious and extremely cautious.
He would not allow himself to be careless until he had completely gained control of the other party!
Moreover, Zhu Fei now directly controls the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Thinking of this, he asked.
"By the way, what has this Zhu Fei been up to these past few days?"
Sima Lie's words startled the group.
"Why did the Prime Minister ask him?"
Tan Wu frowned: "That Zhu Fei is a good-for-nothing, why bother paying attention to him?"
Sima Lie's face darkened, and he said with a solemn expression, "That's not how it works. The more chaotic the situation is now, the more we need to control the incompetent emperor and prevent any further mishaps. And the key to controlling the incompetent emperor is Zhu Fei, who is in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Upon hearing this, Tan Wu and the others immediately became solemn and respectful.
After Sima Lie said that, they dared not underestimate him in the slightest.
However, this serious atmosphere only lasted for a short while.
Tan Wu then thought of Zhu Fei's recent actions and couldn't help but sneer.
"Prime Minister, you are really overthinking things regarding that Zhu Fei. That fat pig is busy running around, visiting and currying favor with the ministers of various departments."
His tone was mocking, as if he didn't take Zhu Fei seriously at all.
Sima Lie frowned, realizing that he had indeed been overthinking things.
He was so nervous just now; he was worrying for nothing.
Since that's the case, Sima Lie didn't want to waste any more of his time on Zhu Fei.
He immediately waved his hand impatiently, "Here's what we'll do: have someone send a message to Zhang Shichang, telling him to immediately probe Zhu Fei's intentions. If he's unwilling to submit to me, then get rid of him on the spot!"
"yes!"
The servant beside him responded and then quickly left.
...
The following day, the Grand Council.
Zhu Fei, under the guise of an inspection, swaggered in wearing a yellow riding jacket and carrying an imperial sword. Many Grand Councilors were working at the time. They glanced at the newcomer, but upon seeing him, they didn't even look at him, shook their heads in disdain, and continued working.
Instead of getting angry, Zhu Fei offered his warm welcome to Zhu Fei, only to be met with indifference.
"Gentlemen, you've been working so hard! What's the point of doing anything else? Why don't I treat you to drinks and a courtesan?"
"snort!"
Upon hearing Zhu Fei's words, many ministers snorted coldly and moved further away from him.
How could such a vulgar and despicable person become an important official in the imperial court?
This is utterly absurd!
If they hadn't had other things to do, they probably would have stormed off long ago in a different setting.
No one paid any attention to Zhu Fei, but at that moment, an exception actually appeared.
"General Zhu!"
A fawning voice came from behind him. Zhu Fei turned around and saw Zhang Shichang walking towards him with several confidants.
Zhu Fei was taken aback. "Oh! This general remembers you. Isn't this Lord Zhang?"
"It's me, General Zhu. Come to think of it, you're still my superior."
Zhang Shichang sneered and said sourly, but as soon as he said this, Zhu Fei suddenly looked nervous!
"You flatter me, Lord Zhang. How could I possibly be your superior?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com