The end of the year is approaching, and Yan Sikong is also preparing to move to a new house. Although he doesn't want to move, this house was given by the emperor himself. If he delays any further, he will inevitably give people a reason to criticize him.

However, after moving there, it would be even more difficult to see Feng Ye in the future. There were 20 or 30 servants in the mansion, and Feng Ye could no longer suddenly appear at his house in the middle of the night. Although the two of them had a lot of business to talk about, they could only look at each other and say a few words to ease their longing for each other.

After much thought, Yan Sikong told Feng Ye the place where he had placed the spirit tablets of his parents, and they agreed to use the freezing of water on the door of the old house of the Yan family as a token of their secret meeting. That night would be the time for their secret meeting.

After moving into a new house, people naturally had to celebrate the joy of moving, not to mention that Yan Sikong was going to marry the princess next year. He was the talk of the town for a while. Hundreds of people were invited to the moving dinner, and people who came to give gifts were lining up to see if they could get what they wanted.

Xie Zhongren was still very polite and brought back the gift Yan Sikong had returned last time. Yan Sikong had expected this and accepted it without hesitation. If he didn't accept it, then no one else's gift would be accepted either. Besides, the situation this time was different from the last time. Firstly, he did have something to celebrate, and secondly, he wanted Xie Zhongren to think that the soft whip he used last time had worked.

Yan Sikong was busy going in and out to greet the guests. After a while, the doorman announced that Yan Zilian had arrived, and he hurried to the door to greet him. He had of course sent an invitation to Yan's house, but given Yan Zilian's status, he usually wouldn't come in person. Sending a small gift was already enough to give him face, and attending the banquet in person was nothing more than taking the opportunity to discuss matters with him.

Yan Sikong respectfully welcomed his mentor. Yan Zilian exchanged a few words with the guests, then found an excuse to avoid the crowd with Yan Sikong and went to the inner study.

After closing the door, Yan Sikong whispered, "Teacher, Xie Zhongren's spies are everywhere in the house. I have asked Ali to guard outside, but we can't stay here for long."

Yan Zilian asked anxiously, "We haven't seen each other for half a month. How come there is no news from you? Has General Feng made any plans? What did Xie Zhongren talk to you about?"

Yan Sikong did not dare to hide anything and told him everything.

After saying this, Yan Zilian's face became even uglier: "When you proposed this to me that day, I was worried that General Feng would not agree."

"I have discussed with the prince. As long as we can mobilize the two thousand elite soldiers of the Feng family to infiltrate the mountain and sea hunting grounds..."

"No." Yan Zilian said sternly, "Without the cooperation of General Feng and Zhao Fuyi, everything would be in vain. Yan Sikong, are you guys just newborn cows that are not afraid of tigers, or are you desperate and trying all kinds of methods? You actually want to start a rebellion without telling General Feng, and even want to drag the crown prince into it? Don't you think about your own situation?!"

These were the harshest words Yan Zilian had ever said to him, but every word made sense. He had calmed down a little in the past few days and knew that this matter was extremely dangerous. Without help, he would be digging his own grave.

However, once Emperor Zhaowu issued an imperial decree to reduce Datong's military equipment, everything might be irreversible. They could either passively wait to be weakened, trampled upon, and finally destroyed, or fight to the death.

Yan Sikong whispered: "The teacher is right, but what should we do now?"

"...I will personally visit General Feng on a chosen day." Yan Zilian said solemnly, "Sikong, I will never act rashly unless I am absolutely sure. Even if we are disbanded or our troops are transferred, we still have a chance of survival, but if 'that thing' fails, there will be no recovery."

“Students understand.”

Yan Zilian took a deep breath and said, "As for Xie Zhongren, I have already guessed his purpose in looking for you. What he said was not just alarmist talk. Your Majesty's attitude towards me is becoming increasingly cold. I know it better than anyone else. But if the chief minister of the inner cabinet becomes a sycophant who only knows how to flatter and fawn on the emperor, is there any hope for the court?"

"Teachers don't have to please His Majesty, but they also have to guard against His Majesty doing harm to teachers."

Yan Zilian smiled calmly: "I have long since put aside life and death, honor and disgrace, but you are right, we must be on guard against this. Since Xie Zhongren wants to use the feud between you and Feng Ye to alienate us, why don't we take advantage of their tricks and put on a good show."

"What are your plans, teacher?"

"If Xie Zhongren thought that you and Feng Ye were irreconcilable, what do you think he would do?"

Yan Sikong thought for a moment, "He might use this to persuade me to make a fuss about the list of questions. Then, if I can bribe Liu An, I can bypass the inner cabinet and let His Majesty decide the results of the examination. Then, I can use the failure of the imperial examination as an excuse to challenge Prince Jingyuan and drastically reduce Datong's military equipment."

"That's right. Your Majesty has been slow to issue an imperial decree and has been slow to introduce the appointed generals to the imperial examination. First, he is worried that the appointed generals will not accept it, and second, he is worried that the people of the world will not accept it. But if you use the imperial examination as a basis, then you are right. Even a perverse reason is right. As long as you have an excuse, it will be enough."

"Then how should we implement this plan?" Yan Sikong saw Yan Zilian's determined look and knew that he must have come up with a brilliant plan, but he still didn't figure out what Yan Zilian was trying to do.

"First, you must put on a play with the prince. This play must be able to confuse the real with the fake. Afterwards, if Xie Zhongren comes to you, you must pretend to surrender, but you must let him know that you only want to take revenge on the Feng family and dare not betray me, otherwise he will definitely become suspicious."

"Students understand." In official circles, the relationship between teachers and students is a closer and more reliable bond than that between relatives or fellow townsmen, because scholars have a tradition of respecting teachers and valuing education, and respecting teachers as they respect their fathers. Jinshi students of the same year are all considered students of the chief examiner of that year, and after entering officialdom, they tend to lean towards the teacher's faction, with few exceptions. Therefore, if Yan Sikong was sentenced to death by his own teacher for personal grudges, it would be a great treason, and no one would believe it.

"Then, the list of questions that the cabinet has already reviewed is still in Liu An's hands. Xie Zhongren will definitely persuade Liu An to tamper with the list of questions with you. You will only change the list on the grounds that you are afraid of being discovered by me, and will not allow them to leak the news. After the changes are completed, Xie Zhongren will secretly submit this list of questions to His Majesty, and after His Majesty approves it, he will directly confer the title of general."

"In this case, won't General Feng have to use that deliberately difficult list of questions to assess us?"

Yan Zilian said coldly: "Before that, I will impeach Liu An for changing the list without the approval of the cabinet."

Yan Sikong's heart sank. He never expected Yan Zilian to be so bold.

Yan Zilian's move was a naked sword fight, a head-on confrontation, and a countermeasure when there was no countermeasure. Because if it really came to that, Yan Zilian would not be impeaching Liu An, but the emperor.

Looking around the world, who has the right to issue an order without the approval of the cabinet? Undoubtedly only the emperor. Without the emperor's permission, even if Liu An had a hundred guts, he would not dare to openly exceed his authority. However, the emperor's action violated the laws of Da Sheng and the ancestral system. It was difficult to convince the public with legal principles. Xie Zhongren and Liu An probably didn't expect that Yan Zilian was so crazy that he dared to challenge the emperor. Even the emperor himself didn't expect it.

If Yan Zilian did this, Emperor Zhaowu would most likely dismiss the marshal and punish Liu An. He could not admit that he broke the law knowingly, and he would certainly be ashamed of Xie Zhongren's bad idea. But at the same time, he would probably find it difficult to tolerate Yan Zilian in his heart.

Yan Sikong said solemnly: "Teacher, I'm afraid this move will not be worth the loss."

"If Feng Junjun can pass the imperial examination, there may be room for maneuver in the matter of military reduction. At least without the excuse of imperial examination, Your Majesty will not be able to punish him." Yan Zilian said in a deep voice, "The current situation is difficult, and we can't care about any 'gains' at all. We are just trying our best to reduce our 'losses'."

"But if the teacher really publicly accuses Your Majesty, even if Your Majesty swallows his anger this time, he will definitely find ways to make things difficult for you in the future." Although Emperor Zhaowu was an indecisive, foolish and incompetent person, he was also very concerned about his reputation. He seized on this point and used the case of the New History to get rid of Wang Shengsheng, the second assistant of the cabinet. Yan Zilian impeached Liu An, which was tantamount to slapping Emperor Zhaowu in the face in front of all the ministers and the people of the world. Even a rabbit will bite when it is cornered, let alone the emperor.

Yan Zilian said in a sullen tone, "So what? You and I both know that we cannot sit and wait for death. Your Majesty has been completely deceived by Xie Zhongren, and we have been forced to retreat by the eunuchs. I have said that I no longer care about life and death, honor and disgrace. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, we might as well give it a try."

Yan Sikong sighed heavily: "The teacher's plan is indeed worth a try. The students are just worried about the teacher... Since the teacher has made up his mind, the students should cooperate with him." Although this plan is dangerous, the knives and guns behind them are sharper. If they retreat any further, they will be ripped open and die without a burial place.

Yan Zilian nodded: "To succeed, every step must be flawless, so that you can deceive Xie Zhongren. You said before that the courtesan Ye Li from Tinglan Pavilion is Xie Zhongren's spy in Yanliu Street. You have a long history with her, so you may be able to use her."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Yan Sikong said, "This girl is the confidante of Zhou Mixing, the eldest son of the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. Zhou Mixing almost took her as a concubine. I am good friends with Zhou Mixing and have already thought about how to play this drama out. Don't worry, teacher." This might be their last chance for a literary duel, and he must make it happen!

Yan Zilian breathed a sigh of relief, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "I don't want to interfere with the relationship between you and the prince, but private affairs are the easiest to cause trouble. There are many rumors in the city about your love. Although most of them are not believed, they are not good things. You should be sensible about this."

"…The students understand."