Fu Chengwang looked at Yun Tianming and frowned slightly.
"His Majesty agreed to Zhao Lin leading the troops. How could there be any problem? Tianming, you're overthinking it."
Yun Tianming said anxiously, "It's not that I'm overthinking it, it's always been like this. Right now, His Majesty values Zhao Lin, so he doesn't care about him leading the troops. Once Zhao Lin loses His Majesty's favor, it will immediately become a reason to attack him. For his future, please ask Brother Fu to persuade him to voluntarily hand over the Qingzhou Army. Oh, and share some of those horses to avoid jealousy."
Fu Chengwang was shocked: "Are you serious? Or did someone tell you something?"
Yun Tianming said, "Of course I'm serious. No one said anything to me. I wanted to tell you this when I left the court, but you were summoned by His Majesty, and I waited a long time, so I had to return home first. Brother Fu, there is a difference between civil and military affairs. Since Zhao Lin is already the prefect, no, the governor, why not focus on his official duties instead of getting involved in military affairs?"
"As for the matter between him and the Prince of Zhenbei Marquisate, if he really doesn't want to apologize, I'm willing to go on his behalf and save him from worrying."
Fu Chengwang was such a smart man that he understood Yun Tianming's idea after a little thought.
Yun Tianming was worried that Zhao Lin, as the prefect, would lead troops, which was against the ancestral rules and would easily give people a chance to criticize him and bring disaster.
Secondly, in the Daqi Dynasty, civil officials are valued and military officials are despised. Even someone as high-ranking as Zhao Jingzhou would be secretly called a vulgar warrior. Yun Tianming naturally did not want his daughter to marry such a person.
Fu Chengwang shook his head and said, "Brother Yun, your suffering in exile has been in vain."
Yun Tianming was puzzled: "Brother Fu, please give me some advice."
Fu Chengwang said, "Zhao Lin is a capable minister who cares about the people. As long as it's good for the world, what does it matter if he becomes a powerful minister? It's still much better than a powerful eunuch, right?"
"Brother Fu?"
Yun Tianming looked at Fu Chengwang in disbelief.
He didn't expect Fu Chengwang to say such a thing.
Fu Chengwang sighed, "The people of the world are suffering. It is enough for Zhao Lin to make the people live well. As for leading the troops, you don't have to worry. The soldiers under Zhao Lin are only responsible for suppressing bandits and maintaining public order, and reclaiming wasteland. They have no ambitions at all. Besides, even if there are, what can they do with only 30,000 soldiers, even if they are all cavalry and elite soldiers? Our dynasty has a million troops and can destroy them at any time. Brother Yun,"
Yun Tianming left Fu Mansion in a daze.
Fu Chengwang sighed.
"Why are you sighing, Dad? I think Uncle Yun has reasons for his worry," Fu Wenqi asked.
Fu Chengwang said, "If he can think of it, how could I not think of it? But have you ever thought about what the court is like now?"
Fu Wenqi thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty only cares about having fun and not attending state affairs. It's a blessing that he can attend a court meeting once in a while. The eunuchs have the final say on important court affairs, and there's also the Crown Prince and Prince Yu fighting each other, and the Jiang and Chu factions are at loggerheads. It's truly a mess."
Fu Wenqi's words were very bold.
Because Fu Chengwang is the leader of the Chu Party.
"Yeah, it's chaos. Everyone's just vying for power. Who cares about the people?"
Fu Chengwang said calmly, "Even if Zhao Lin has other intentions, he's actually working for the people, so I support him. At most, we'll have one more powerful official. How much worse can it be than the current situation?"
Fu Wenqi nodded and said, "Then why doesn't Dad negotiate with Prime Minister Li?"
"That's easier said than done." Fu Chengwang shook his head. "Jiang Party, Chu Party, what is a party? It's naturally a group of people gathered together to form a community of shared interests. Now I, your father, have no choice. If you don't fight, you will be removed. How can you not fight?"
Fu Wenqi sighed.
They, father and son, wanted to rectify the imperial court, but they were powerless.
Fu Chengwang was only the Minister of Rites, and he would have to wait until Li Chengqian retired before he could take over the position of Prime Minister.
Although Fu Wenqi was highly regarded by Emperor Chengping and entrusted with important tasks because of his relationship with Fu Chengwang, he could not do what Fu Chengwang could not do.
As for others, they may have the same idea, but as Fu Chengwang said, they have no choice.
Zhao Lin, who did not get involved, turned out to be a good choice.
"Maybe we should wait until the new emperor takes the throne." Fu Wenqi said.
"Master, Miss Yun requests to see you."
At this time, the housekeeper came to report.
"Miss Yun? Know what I mean?"
Fu Chengwang frowned slightly, wondering why she came at this time.
Fu Wenqi said, "Please come in."
Soon, Yun Zhiyi came over and saluted Fu Chengwang and Fu Wenqi first, then said, "Zhiyi came to disturb uncle late at night to ask you to persuade my father to let my elder brother and younger brother go to Qingzhou with me."
Fu Chengwang asked, "Why go to Qingzhou? Yun Heng and Yun Chuan have already entered Chongwenguan, so it's a good time for them to study."
Yun Zhiyi said, "My husband said that the Crown Prince and Prince Yu are fighting fiercely. My father just returned to the capital and cannot protect himself. He is afraid of being involved. He wants my elder brother and younger brother to go to Qingzhou for temporary refuge. It won't be too late to return after the new emperor ascends the throne and the world is stable."
"It was Zhao Lin's idea."
Fu Chengwang smiled and said, "He's very thoughtful. There are indeed undercurrents in the capital lately, and it's very dangerous. But have you considered that His Majesty is in the prime of his life, and it will take at least ten years for the new emperor to ascend the throne. Can the two of them wait ten years?"
Yun Zhiyi hesitated for a moment, thinking of what Zhao Lin said before he came, and looked around. Fu Wenqi understood and asked everyone to leave.
Yun Zhiyi then lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty has consumed too many pills and is dying."
"What?"
Fu Chengwang's face suddenly changed color, and Fu Wenqi almost jumped up, staring at Yun Zhiyi in disbelief.
Fu Chengwang said sternly, "Yun Zhiyi, do you know what you are talking about?"
Yun Zhiyi quickly said, "My husband got the news from Zhu Zhongyan. Your Majesty only has one or two years left."
"absurd!"
Fu Chengwang was furious and asked, "Can you believe what a eunuch says?"
Yun Zhiyi said, "Only the words of a eunuch can be trusted. Because the matter is of such great importance, my husband did not dare to mention it in the letter and asked me to convey it to my uncle in person. The Crown Prince and Prince Yu also know about it, so my uncle should make preparations early."
Fu Chengwang's expression kept changing.
There is no reason for Zhao Lin to lie about this.
And as Yun Zhiyi said, there was no need for Zhu Zhongyan to lie.
The eunuchs have the emperor as their backer, and they worry about the emperor's health more than anyone else.
A new emperor appoints his own ministers.
Emperor Chengping died, and no matter who came to the throne, Zhu Zhongyan would suffer the consequences.
Therefore, Zhu Zhongyan revealed this news to Zhao Lin, perhaps hoping that he would pass it on to himself and Li Xingye orally, so as to leave a way out for himself.
After figuring this out, Fu Chengwang said, "This matter is of great importance. I must first meet with the Emperor and confirm it before making any further comments."
"No!" Fu Wenqi hurriedly stopped him, "How can a minister ask about your Majesty's health? Besides, even if you asked, what would happen? If it could be cured, it would have been cured long ago."
Fu Chengwang naturally knew about this.
But loyalty to the emperor and the country comes first.
Yun Zhiyi said, "Before we came here, my husband told me not to ask His Majesty. Now that things have come to this, we should first consider what to do if His Majesty passes away. The Crown Prince and Prince Yu will undoubtedly fight for the throne. What will happen then?"
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