As soon as Zhang Shichang entered, he was reprimanded by Sima Lie.
Zhang Shichang knelt down with a thud, and said with tears welling up in his eyes, "Prime Minister, the position of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is gone! Someone else has taken it!"
"What!" Sima Lie's eyes widened in shock and anger: "The news has already been spread, who dares to oppose me?"
Although he asked a question, his tone was full of murderous intent.
Zhang Shichang's lips twitched, and he hurriedly explained in a miserable manner, "It was a beast named Zhu Fei who suddenly went to the Ministry of Personnel and hijacked this matter! I saw him take out a silver note of one million taels on the spot, and I didn't even have time to go to the bank to withdraw the money."
Mentioning Zhu Fei made Zhang Shichang furious; the duck that was about to be eaten had flown away, how could he not hate it?
Zhang Shichang continued, adding fuel to the fire, "This Zhu Fei was extremely arrogant. He even declared in front of everyone that he was determined to take the position of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and that if any poor wretch dared to compete with him, he would throw out another million taels of silver..."
"You bastard!"
Sima Lie was furious. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Where did this hothead come from? How dare he oppose me! I'll have him skinned alive!"
"He seems to be a brigade commander in a police patrol," Zhang Shichang said cautiously.
"Hmph!" Sima Lie laughed angrily: "A mere petty official, he really doesn't know his own limitations. Investigate him carefully, I want to know everything about him."
"Reporting to the Prime Minister, I have already investigated."
Zhang Shichang quickly recounted everything he had investigated.
He recounted Zhu Fei's numerous misdeeds, including how he amassed wealth during his tenure, oppressed the people, extorted money from the wealthy, and even colluded with pawnshops and money houses to lend money at exorbitant interest rates.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Beiming, whose face had been gloomy, suddenly raised his head, stroked his goatee, and sneered.
"No wonder this Zhu Fei, a mere military officer, is so rich. He's a petty official with enormous greed, using his power to maintain order in the capital to extort money from everyone."
Sima Lie snorted coldly and said in an icy voice, "I think he has money to take but no money to spend."
"slow……"
"Your Excellency, I think we should make contact with this person instead of rushing to kill him."
Qiu Beiming's eyes flashed as he said, "Besides, I don't think he's deliberately going against us."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Sima Lie frowned in confusion.
Qiu Beiming smiled slightly: "Prime Minister, think about it, this man has been plundering the people for so many years, and he has probably committed many crimes. That's why he took this opportunity to buy a generalship, wash his hands of his criminal activities, and go ashore. He probably wants to become the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard by the emperor's side. In this way, no one will dare to investigate him in the future!"
Upon hearing this, Sima Lie's eyes flashed. After calming down, he said thoughtfully, "So that's how it is. No wonder this Zhu Fei dared to openly oppose us. It seems he was forced into this situation."
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Qiu Beiming's words made sense. He was also a veteran in officialdom, and it was common for him to launder his money and retire after making enough.
What surprised him even more was that he could eat his way up to be incredibly fat in the police camp and casually take out a million taels of silver, and the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War had never found out. This guy was indeed a talent.
"Sir, do you perhaps intend to win this person over and recruit him for your own use?"
Qiu Beiming laughed heartily and nodded, saying, "Your Excellency the Prime Minister is wise."
Sima Lie narrowed his eyes and began to seriously consider Qiu Beiming's suggestion.
If we could really win Zhu Fei over to work for us, it might actually be a good thing.
After all, what's done is done, and this fat pig has already taken the position of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
If he succeeds in winning them over, he can also smoothly take control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Seeing that things were not going well, Zhang Shichang said with some urgency, "Prime Minister, this Zhu Fei is too arrogant. He's obviously a fool who doesn't know what's good for him. We should get rid of him as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications!"
As soon as Zhang Shichang finished speaking, Sima Lie gave him an unpleasant glance.
This glance instantly jolted Zhang Shichang awake; a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his face turned deathly pale.
He felt that all his little schemes had been seen through at that moment.
Zhang Shichang wiped the cold sweat from his brow, suppressed his inner fear, and stood aside with his head down, not daring to utter a sound.
"Alright, next time there's something good, I'll give you a promotion." Sima Lie glanced coldly at Zhang Shichang and said indifferently, "You can get to know this Zhu Fei again afterward and try to find out what he's thinking. If he's unwilling to submit to me, I'll take his life myself."
Since they're all going to be his dogs anyway, Sima Lie doesn't care whether they're surnamed Zhang or Zhu!
Zhang Shichang's face turned a deep purplish-red, his lips twitching as he struggled to speak, and in the end, he could only reluctantly agree.
The duck that was almost in our mouths really flew away!
Including Li Geng, he has already been thwarted twice!
Meanwhile, the next day arrived quickly.
Inside the Golden Palace, officials stood in formation, whispering amongst themselves and craning their necks in anticipation.
"The Emperor has arrived! The Prime Minister has arrived!" Anfu's shrill shouts echoed through the hall, and all the officials knelt down to welcome him.
"Greetings, Your Majesty; greetings, Prime Minister."
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
"All of you, rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The officials rose one after another, but Sima Lie remained as arrogant as ever, sitting upright in his grand chair, closing his eyes to rest.
Qin Yu also sat down, cleared his throat, and said loudly, "I have an announcement to make today. The Ministry of Personnel has completed the matter of purchasing official positions yesterday. Based on the amount of money donated, the new commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has been appointed!"
"This man is none other than Zhu Fei, the former captain of the patrol battalion!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire Golden Palace erupted in noise.
"Who is Zhu Fei? I've never heard of him."
"A patrol battalion captain? Let him be the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, jumping from the security forces to the most elite imperial guard all at once. Isn't that a bit too frivolous?"
"Sigh! What's the point of saying so much now? What can you do when someone has so much money..."
For a moment, the officials began to whisper among themselves, but Qin Yu paid no attention and lazily waved his hand to give the order.
"Guards, summon Zhu Fei to the palace."
"By imperial decree, summon Zhu Fei to the palace!" Anfu shouted at the top of his lungs.
A moment later, footsteps could be heard outside.
The officials immediately turned their heads curiously to look outside.
A fat man, his entire body encased in armor, slowly walked over, his large belly protruding.
This thing was so fat and round that it almost lost its balance and fell to the ground when it climbed the white marble steps.
As he walked, he looked around the hall with gleaming eyes, making clicking sounds of surprise, acting like a complete country bumpkin who had never seen the world.
Seeing his appearance, the officials present were speechless and there was an uproar!
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