Chapter 123 Oolong
"Who did you say you saw there?"
"Zhang... Zhang Qikai, Lord Zhang."
Song Yuzhu was stunned. He had suspected too many people but never thought about the people around him.
After all these years of getting along, he had already regarded Zhang Qikai as his confidant. Now he was suddenly told that Zhang Qikai had dealings with the remnants of the previous dynasty. How could he accept this?
Song Yuzhu grabbed the chair tightly and closed his eyes: "Tell me his whereabouts in detail."
"At 1:00 pm, Lord Zhang's carriage stopped at the back door of Yang Yuanji's residence. Lord Zhang got off the carriage and entered the residence. He stayed inside for about half an incense stick of time before coming out. Afterwards, the carriage went to Xiangyun Tower. Xiangyun Tower was too tightly guarded, so the subordinates had no way of snooping. Half an hour later, Lord Zhang returned to his residence and did not go out again."
Song Yuzhu nodded: "Continue to monitor Yang Yuanji, if he tries to escape, kill him on the spot!"
"Yes." Liu Yanzi knew that Song Yuzhu was angry. Think about it, who wouldn't be angry about this kind of thing?
Everyone has witnessed how the emperor has treated the former ministers over the years. As long as the officials are diligent and hardworking, they are all treated equally. This would have been impossible in any previous dynasty.
Taking the previous dynasty as an example, historical records show that when Emperor Sheng Gaozu Yang Dynasty conquered the world, he killed more than 3,700 officials of the Wu Dynasty.
Almost the entire Wu Dynasty's team was cleared out, which indirectly led to the extremely difficult early days of the Sheng Dynasty, when even illiterate people could become officials.
The reason why Song Yuzhu kept these officials from the previous dynasty was that, firstly, he was not a bloodthirsty person by nature and did not want to kill innocent people, and secondly, the new dynasty was indeed short of manpower when it was first established.
Now that Daqi has been recuperating for five years, a steady stream of talents have poured into Shangjing, and there is no shortage of capable people in the court. The reason why these old ministers are still kept is because of their friendship when they worked diligently for the country.
Zhang Qikai's incident was like a heavy blow to him, making him see stars.
Song Yuzhu was furious. He wanted to ask why this happened. What had he done wrong to make him betray him?
Song Yuzhu didn't eat a single bite of breakfast or lunch. He was so angry that he sent someone to invite Xu Bing into the palace to discuss the matter with him.
Xu Bing entered the palace at 3:00 p.m., and as soon as he entered the Shangshufang, he noticed that the emperor's expression was not right.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
"Please sit down, my dear."
Song Yuzhu put down the book and said, "It's been a while since we last talked."
Xu Bing smiled and said, "Your Majesty is very busy, I don't have the time to look for you even if I want to."
Li Dehai came over with a bowl of eight-treasure soup and said, "Your Majesty, please drink some of the soup. You can't stand being so hungry all the time."
Upon hearing this, Xu Bing asked, "Your Majesty, haven't you had your meal yet?"
"That's right. I didn't eat in the morning and I can't eat at noon. Lord Xu, please persuade His Majesty."
Song Yuzhu waved her hand and asked him to leave, so Li Dehai had to leave with the soup.
"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. If anything happens to you, General Zhao will come back and turn the tables on the capital."
Song Yuzhu coughed twice and said, "Don't tease me. I called you here to discuss something."
Xu Bing said seriously: "Your Majesty, please speak."
"What do you think of me as the emperor?"
Xu Bing was stunned. He didn't expect Song Yuzhu to suddenly ask such a question: "I heard a nursery rhyme. Your Majesty, would you like to listen to it?"
"Tell me about it."
Xu Bing cleared his throat: "Da Qi is good, Da Qi is wonderful, he defeated the Jin people and made them cry. Changzhi is really a good emperor, and the people study and farm..." When they said this, both the emperor and his minister couldn't help laughing.
"Where did you hear that?"
"My wife sang it to coax the child."
Song Yuzhu smiled and then sighed: "I know I haven't done well enough, and there are still many things I haven't taken into account."
Xu Bing looked at his thin face and said, "You have done well enough. In less than five years, the population of Daqi has increased by 13 million. Most people can have enough food and clothing. This is better than what the emperors in history books have done."
"So I am a wise ruler?"
"Of course."
"Then why would someone betray me?" Song Yuzhu couldn't understand.
Xu Bing was stunned, and quickly knelt down and said: "I have never betrayed Your Majesty!"
"Hurry up, I'm not talking about you."
Xu Bing stood up with the help of a stool, his face full of doubt and uncertainty, "I wonder who betrayed His Majesty."
Song Yuzhu stroked the jade pendant on his waist and said, "Guess."
Xu Bing went over the ministers in the court in his mind and shook his head, saying, "I really can't think of it."
Song Yuzhu dipped his hand in the clean water from the brush wash and wrote a word on the table.
Xu Bing's eyes widened: "No, it's impossible, how could Lord Zhang..."
"I don't dare to believe it either, but someone saw him entering and leaving Yang Yuanji's house with his own eyes."
"Yang Yuanji has surrendered, but that doesn't mean anything, right?"
"A few days ago, Yang Yuanji sent someone to assassinate me, but I discovered it. His strategy of sleeping on straw and tasting gall was really a brilliant one."
Xu Bing still couldn't believe it. He had served in the same court with Zhang Qikai for five years, and his wife was introduced by Lord Zhang. Now he was promoted to the position of Minister of the Six Ministries and entered the Cabinet. What on earth could he be so upset about associating with the remnants of the previous dynasty?
"I would like to ask for permission to meet him in person!"
"Go..." This was also the purpose of Song Yuzhu asking Xu Bing to enter the palace. Yang Yuanji would definitely not let him go.
As for Zhang Qikai, he has done a lot of practical things for the country over the years. Song Yuzhu doesn't want to kill him, nor does he want to use him again. The best way is to let him retire and return home.
*
Xu Bing left the palace and got into the carriage, still unable to believe it. He didn't believe that Zhang Qi would do such a thing.
Soon the carriage arrived at the gate of Zhang's house. Zhang Qikai was a little surprised by Xu Bing's sudden visit, and he quickly sent someone to lead him into the main hall.
"How come Prime Minister Xu has time to come to my house today?"
Xu Bing said with a bad look: "If you want to discuss it with the adults, let's go to the study to talk."
Zhang Qikai asked, "What's so mysterious about this?"
The two came to the study, Xu Bing closed the door tightly, and the two looked at each other.
Zhang Qikai chuckled: "Why are you looking at me like that? It's so creepy."
Xu Bing sighed and got straight to the point: "I won't beat around the bush. What is your relationship with Yang Yuanji?"
"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
Xu Bing said seriously: "Tell me the truth!"
"We have no relationship."
"Then why did you visit him?!"
Zhang Qikai's eyes widened: "Someone is watching me?"
"The Emperor was monitoring Yang Yuanji and happened to see you entering and leaving his residence."
Zhang Qikai explained anxiously: "I really have nothing to do with him! In the previous dynasty, Emperor Longwu was afraid that the prince would have a private relationship with the ministers, and we hardly ever spoke to each other."
"After the founding of the Great Qi Kingdom, he surrendered to the emperor in Beijing. I only saw him once in the palace, and a few days ago when he was fishing by the Jing Lake... I said I went to his house to ask for fish food. Do you believe me?"
Zhang Qi walked to the water tank next to the study and took out a small bag of fish food. "Yang Yuanji is good at fishing. I met him when I was fishing in Jing Lake a few days ago. The fish food he mixed was very attractive to fish, so I asked him for a bag."
"After leaving his house, I went to Xiangyunlou and bought a Guixiang Chicken. It's still warming in the kitchen. If you don't believe me, go and take a look."
Xu Bing looked at him speechlessly: "Do you think the emperor will believe this?"
"Hiss... I can't explain myself now." Zhang Qikai scratched his head and paced back and forth in the study.
The previous dynasty has been destroyed for a long time, and the new emperor is diligent in his work and loves the people. Is it necessary for him, as a second-rank minister of the Ministry of Justice, to wade into this muddy water!
"Yang Yuanji sent assassins into the palace to kill His Majesty. Now you appear in his house. If he thinks you are an accomplice, you will never be able to clear yourself even if you jump into the Yellow River."
Zhang Qikai threw down the fish food and spread his hands: "What should I do now?" He never thought that he would get into such a big trouble because of a bag of fish food.
Xu Bing said with a heavy face: "The emperor sent me to inquire, which means he has no intention of touching you, but he already suspects that you are colluding with Yang Yuanji..."
Zhang Qikai was silent for a long time and then said, "I understand. I will write a letter to retire tomorrow." He is fifty-six years old this year and it is time for him to take a rest.
On the second day, Zhang Qi submitted a memorial, reporting everything he had done at Yang Yuanji's house. He also stated that he was old and frail, and had unbearable back pain from time to time, so he requested to retire and return home.
Song Yuzhu was amused after reading the memorial. This matter was really a mistake, but if it was just a misunderstanding, then it was the best. He rejected Zhang Qi's memorial to retire and temporarily gave him a three-month leave, allowing him to recuperate before returning to the court.
*
On the other side, Yang Yuanji finally couldn't bear it anymore and sent assassins to kill Zhang Xiang to silence him.
The assassin sent out was caught by Liu Yanzi who had been lying in ambush.
When the two brothers met for the first time, instead of reminiscing about the past, they attacked each other with extra ferocity.
Back then, Bai Ying betrayed his master and became a lackey of the imperial court, causing the sect to fall apart and his master to die tragically. Now Liu Yanzi is cleaning up the mess.
The two of them were from the same school, and both were very good at martial arts. Liu Yanzi chased him from Tianxiang Tower all the way to Dongcheng County Mansion, and finally caught him.
White Eagle laughed and said, "You hated me for joining the imperial court at the beginning. What's the difference between you and me now? You are both lackeys of the imperial court."
Liu Yanzi was too lazy to argue with him and pulled out her fan to attack him. Bai Ying was injured and was no match for Liu Yanzi. He was fighting and retreating at the end of his strength.
Seeing that he couldn't be angered, she could only beg: "Brother, you and I have practiced martial arts together for thirteen years. I still remember that when I was a child, I offended Master, and every time you helped me beg for mercy... Let me go this time too."
Liu Yanzi frowned and her moves became more fierce.
White Eagle couldn't resist and pulled open his collar to reveal the peace locket hanging around his neck. "Remember this? You gave it to me when we first went down the mountain!"
Liu Yanzi's eyes turned slightly red, and the fan in her hand brushed across his neck.
The red string broke instantly, and the peace locket fell to the ground and broke into pieces, followed by more red rolling down.
Bai Ying covered his neck in fear: "Brother..."
Liu Yanzi reached out to catch his body, covered his eyes and whispered, "Ying'er, don't be afraid, it won't hurt soon."
“Master…Senior Brother…”
Liu Yanzi's Adam's apple slid, and she finally forced back the tears in her eyes. He would send his junior brother's body back to the sect for burial, which would be considered as fulfilling his master's last wish before his death.
Yang Yuanji realized something was wrong and tried to escape, but was stopped by the guards and taken to the Tianlao.
After several days of torture, he finally confessed the identity of thirteen officials who had colluded with him.
Among them were the Minister of Taichang Temple, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, the Minister of Guanglu Temple and the Assistant Commander of the Protectorate. All of them intended to rebel and were beheaded in public. Their families were exiled to Lingnan and never employed again.
The matter came to an end, and Zhang Qikai returned to the court, because this incident made him give up his hobby of fishing.
How scary! I almost lost my head!
(End of this chapter)
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