Chapter 414: The capital is Mr. Zhao’s territory (new January monthly ticket request)
The flames licked the paper on which the information was written, quickly carbonizing it.
Sun Lianying, wearing a loose cotton robe, stretched out her hand to warm it above the brazier and said calmly:
"Although Cao Mao has been away from the capital for years, he is still a nobleman with military power, and his status and position are extraordinary. Once he senses the direction of public opinion, he will inevitably mobilize his forces to block and suppress it. Have you thought about how to deal with it?"
Zhao Duan's tone was calm and he did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned his head to look at the Lihuatang Jinyi who came to report the news and asked:
"Have you completed all the greetings I arranged for you to make?"
The man in brocade clothes bowed and said:
"It has already been done. Don't worry, sir. The capital is not Jubei City. This is our territory. With your order, we want to see who in the entire capital dares to work for Duke Cao."
Zhao Duan waved his hand in satisfaction, letting the latter leave, then turned around and looked at his old leader with a smile:
"Is this a proper thing to do?"
"You." The old eunuch seemed to shake his head helplessly, gently put down the chess piece, and looked relieved.
A year ago, who would have thought that Zhao Duan would have the power he has today?
…
…
Kyoto government office.
On this day, the prefect learned that Cao Kedi, the deputy general of Jubei City, was visiting him, so he immediately and politely welcomed him into the back hall to entertain him.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Cao Kedi stated his intention:
"Today, someone in the city fabricated rumors, spreading them among the people and attacking the imperial court's laws. The Duke was furious upon learning of this, and so he urged me to come and ask the prefect to stop the rumors and prevent them from spreading. He also asked me to investigate who was so audacious."
"Is this really true?" The prefect of the capital was shocked and slammed the table in anger:
"How can Duke Cao be slandered under the Emperor's feet? Please tell the Duke that I will order the government office and several county offices in the capital to take action."
Cao Kedi smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord Prefect."
"Haha, it's just my job." The mayor of the capital smiled and personally escorted Cao Ke Di out of the government office.
After the people left, the smile on his face faded. He turned around, dragging his somewhat fat body against the cold wind, and returned to the warm back hall.
The head constable approached cautiously and asked, "Sir, shall I do it right away?"
The prefect glanced at him and said coldly, "What do you want to do?"
The captain was stunned for a moment and said, "Duke Cao entrusted me with this..."
The prefect snorted, waved his hand irritably, and said:
"Let's put it off for now. Wait until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and then find a few ruffians to take the blame and give the Duke's Mansion an explanation."
He did not want to offend Cao Mao. If it was something else, it would be fine, but Zhao Yanwang had sent someone to say hello before.
"How many days can a commander stationed at the northern border actually spend in the capital? Cao Mao is so audacious that he wants to offend that Zhao man with just a few words of thanks."
The prefect was secretly complaining in his heart, and at the same time secretly thinking about this matter, he vaguely sensed an undercurrent surging, and felt that a good show was about to begin.
"You can't get involved in this matter. If you don't understand the situation clearly and try to intervene, you'll only end up getting burned."
…
Imperial Court, Peony Hall.
"Duke Cao wants to entrust us to help him investigate the source of the rumors? To stop them?"
Zhang Han, with a paralyzed face, looked at a Northern officer in front of him with a strange look in his eyes.
The officer nodded and said seriously:
"Zhang Jisi is the best among the nine halls. When it comes to investigating cases and handling affairs in the capital, the Mudan Hall is second to none. As long as this matter is handled successfully, the Duke will not forget Zhang Jisi's hard work."
Zhang Han looked at the man expressionlessly for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The Imperial Court is acting on behalf of His Majesty. This matter does not involve the rebels, and it was not ordered by the Governor. I am sorry that I cannot interfere."
"This..." The Jubeicheng officer was stunned. He didn't expect the other party to be so disrespectful and unwilling to say even a little polite words, even if he was a little more tactful...
His face darkened: "Duke Cao is..."
Zhang Han interrupted the man and offered him tea, saying, "I have something else to do, so I'm sorry I can't see him off."
The Northern officer opened his mouth, took a deep breath, stood up and left the table angrily.
After everyone left, Haitang, who was standing outside with her arms folded and looking like she was watching a show, walked in and said with interest:
"This Duke is quite interesting. Is he used to being so powerful and domineering at the border, or is he just getting old and confused? He actually comes to you and gives you orders."
Zhang Han shook his head and said calmly:
"They didn't go to Zhao Duan, but came to me instead. This shows they are not too stupid. Perhaps they heard about the nine sects fighting each other and thought I would be happy to get close to Duke Cao."
Hearing that there was something exciting to watch, Haitang, who had come all the way over to eat the melon, was amazed and said:
"Although I don't know what happened, based on my understanding of Zhao Duan, this Duke is in trouble."
…
Red Flower Society headquarters.
The "White Paper Fan", the largest gang in the capital, personally came out to welcome the arrival of the steward of Duke Cao's mansion.
The so-called White Paper Fan is not a name, but a title. Its status is similar to that of a gang's "military advisor", and its status within the Red Flower Society is only second to the leader.
"Oh, it's really unfortunate that the gang leader is not at home right now. I wonder if you have any instructions? I will convey it to him." The tall and thin Baizhishan said politely.
As a seventh-rank official in the prime minister's office and the chief steward of the Duke's Mansion, he is already a big shot for this group of societies.
"You, the Red Flower Society, are well-informed about the market, so you should have heard the rumors against the Duke. I'll give you one day to find out where these rumors originated."
The butler gave his orders with an arrogant look on his face, then stood up and left.
Bai Zhishan sent the person away with a smile on his face, watched him leave, and spat lightly.
He turned around and ordered several gang thugs to guard outside. He returned to the house, walked to the door of a house in the back house, and pushed it open with both hands.
Looking at the bald middle-aged man pacing in the room.
"Boss, the person has been sent away, just as expected. We need to complete it within a day."
The leader of the Red Flower Society had a sinister look on his face and sneered:
"They say we may seem prosperous, but in reality we are nothing more than the chamber pots of the great men, picked up only when we think of them..."
Baizhishan hesitated and said, "Then let's..."
The Red Flower Society leader said sternly, "Do I need to tell you how to deal with this?"
"Yes. Then spread the news..."
"Send more people and make things worse. If King Zhao isn't satisfied, neither you nor I will survive until next year. Think of Master Meng!"
Master Meng was the former leader of the Red Flower Society. He committed a crime against Zhao Du'an and died tragically in the imperial prison.
In a sense, Zhao Duan's deterrent power on underground gangs is much stronger than that of the emperor in the palace.
…
At the same time, similar scenes took place in every corner of the capital.
The network of contacts of a duke is enough to extend to all the government offices in the capital, however, compared with Cao Mao's orders, no official dared to disobey Zhao Duan's "invitation".
Even the "Li Party", which was hostile to Zhao Duan, maintained an attitude of indifference and non-interference in this matter.
"It seems that this Zhao Duan is more capable than I expected."
Somewhere in the capital, in a carriage, Duke Tang looked out the window at two groups of people, belonging to Zhao Duan and Cao Mao respectively, who entered a government office almost one after the other, and sighed softly.
Inside the carriage, Tang Zhao looked depressed.
She was good at fighting, and she really didn't understand this kind of intrigue.
Even now, she still didn't know what Zhao Duan and her father talked about in the study last night.
"Okay, let's go." Duke Tang looked at his daughter who was brave but not wise, and shook his head helplessly, "Don't be late."
Today, Duke Tang sent visiting cards to the royal relatives and nobles of higher seniority in the city, and will go to pay a visit.
This was not surprising for a general who returned to Beijing after guarding the border.
But only a few people knew that the purpose of Duke Tang's trip was to remove Cao Mao's arm in this killing game.
According to what Zhao Duan said last night: "This is part of the plan."
…
In a blink of an eye, two days passed.
In the streets and alleys of the capital, the news about Cao Mao not only did not decrease, but became more and more intense.
Criticizing a duke is inherently risky, but if more people speak out, they will become bolder.
In particular, a case involving Duke Cao was reported in the Dali Temple, which gave even people in official circles an excuse to discuss the matter publicly.
Since the day when the censor Chen Hong was refused entry to the palace, more than a dozen censors came to the palace to impeach him within two days, and the momentum became increasingly intense.
Duke Cao's Mansion.
"Why are the rumors still spreading?! Two days! Two whole days! The rumors outside are getting louder and louder. I can even hear them at home. How do you do things?! Huh? Are you all mute? Speak!"
Cao Mao's hair and beard stood on end, and he roared angrily at several subordinates standing side by side in the room, venting his anger.
The atmosphere in the room was tense and everyone was silent.
Cao Kedi stood with his hands hanging down, saying with shame:
"Foster father, it's not that we don't work hard, it's just that those people in the city are pretending to be cooperative, but in reality they are not working hard and are just perfunctory in dealing with us. After all, the capital is not the north, we..."
The others also complained bitterly.
Cao Mao finished venting his anger, leaned back, and threw himself heavily into the armchair, holding his forehead with his hand:
"Forget it, forget it. As the old saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. After all, I have been away from the capital for too long. I didn't expect that in just one year, a biting snake would grow up."
Cao Kedi was surprised and said, "Godfather, you mean..."
"Zhao Duan," Cao Mao gritted his teeth and spat out the name:
"I've been wondering why this man chose to clash with you in the Ministry of Justice, just because Northern Blood Blade served as his bodyguard for a while? It's ridiculous. Now it seems he's here for me."
Cao Kedi frowned and said, "Foster father, are you saying that those government offices are unwilling to exert their strength because Zhao Duan warned them?"
Cao Mao wanted to say something, but suddenly drove the others out of the room. When only two people were left in the room, he said with a gloomy face:
"I have never had any dealings with Zhao Duan. How could he go against us for no reason and over such a small matter? I'm afraid he's just a lackey."
Cao Kedi probed:
"Could that be Master Tang? He and my adoptive father have always been at odds..."
Cao Mao shook his head, his eyes dimly looking at him.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The rumors spreading among the people could be attributed to my political enemies, but the case at the Dali Temple came too unexpectedly. The most crucial factor is the censors at the Metropolitan Censorate... Hehe, I'm afraid Your Majesty is dissatisfied with us and wants to punish us."
Cao Kedi looked anxious:
"Foster father, if it was really His Majesty who did this, what should we do..."
Cao Mao glanced at him dissatisfiedly and said unhappily:
"Why are you throwing yourself into disarray? I have many allied nobles within my borders, and a hundred thousand troops outside defending the northern city. How many years has your Majesty been on the throne? This is nothing more than a warning."
Although the situation was very serious now, Cao Mao was only shocked and angry, not panicked.
Because in his opinion, the empress absolutely did not have the confidence to turn the table over and take real action against him.
At this moment, the butler's voice suddenly came from outside the room: "Duke, someone is coming to the palace!"
The father and son looked at each other and understood the meaning of each other's eyes: Here it comes!
After a while.
A eunuch holding a whisk came to the door with a smile, and after paying his respects, he said:
"In recent days, public opinion in the city has been surging, with rumors circulating about the Duke. Your Majesty naturally doesn't believe them, but he can't stand the repeated impeachments from the Censors of the Metropolitan Censorate, so he can't just ignore them.
Therefore, Your Majesty hopes that the Duke will come to court tomorrow morning to explain in person, so as to calm the dispute."
Cao Mao was not surprised at all, and even felt a little proud of his guess. He said casually:
"Your Majesty, I will attend court tomorrow."
As he expected, it would be nothing more than a confrontation with the censors in court. As long as he expressed a little respect for the empress and made her feel good, and then gave her a mild warning, the matter would be over.
"How could a woman be so courageous as to declare herself emperor? She would simply be bringing the same tactics of the harem into the imperial court."
Cao Mao launched a spiritual victory method, but he inexplicably felt uneasy.
——Your Majesty, is this really all you have?
However, when he thought of the northern border troops that he had firmly controlled, his heart calmed down again.
…
…
That night, a cold wave swept through the capital and the temperature dropped sharply.
After the Western Regions delegation left Beijing, the sky, which had been clear for a while, was once again covered by dark clouds. In the second half of the night, heavy snow began to fall slowly.
early morning.
When Zhao Duan pushed open the door, what caught his eye was snowflakes fluttering like confetti under the pale sky.
In the courtyard, the servants were already sweeping with brooms.
Zhao Pan actually got up, which was rare, but judging from the way he shivered, he must have been woken up by the cold.
She and her Pekingese would squat by the stove, warming their hands (paws).
Her bright eyes were still looking out longingly. Seeing Zhao Duan approaching, the girl said happily:
"Brother, this snow is so heavy. We should be able to build a snowman this afternoon."
Well, this little girl is already thinking about what kind of snowman to build... Well, although the last round of snowfall was sparse for a long time, it was not thick.
Zhao Duan, however, recalled seeing those internet celebrities in his past life, each of them making snowmen into all sorts of cool shapes, like carving them into dragons. They were so cool...
"Close the door quickly, aren't you afraid of getting sick?"
Eugene Hua walked in from outside with a few maids and a tray of food in her hands, looking disappointed.
Goose-feather snowflakes fell on the beautiful woman's bund-up hair, creating a sharp contrast between black and white.
"Oh." The girl closed the door in disappointment, and the temperature in the room slowly rose. Zhao Duan shook his head and smiled, chatting with his family at the dinner table.
Eugene Hua excitedly reported to him how much New Year's goods the family had purchased.
"The New Year is almost over. I wonder what the lantern show will be like this year on New Year's Eve." The beautiful stepmother's eyes were full of longing.
In the Dayu Dynasty, New Year's Eve was a major festival, and people would attend the lantern festival despite the cold wind.
Of course, it won’t be cold on New Year’s Eve. Even if the weather is bad, the great priests of the Tianshi Mansion will work together to change the celestial phenomena.
——This is also one of the rare times when the priests will intervene in the weather, except in the event of a major natural disaster.
Unfortunately, due to the influence of the Xuanmen coup in the past two years, the atmosphere in the capital was grim and turbulent, the festive atmosphere was greatly reduced, and the New Year's Eve Lantern Festival was in name only.
This year, the empress's regime gradually stabilized and there were signs of recovery.
Zhao Duan was a little distracted.
After dinner.
He changed into his official uniform, picked up the Frost Sword and left the yamen. The coachman Xiao Wang was already waiting outside.
"Brother seems to be worried today and goes to the yamen very early." Zhao Pan muttered curiously while holding the Pekingese dog.
Eugenie, wrapped in thick furs that concealed her plump figure, said:
"Men always have important things to do. Women just need to take care of the household."
Zhao Pan curled his lips, understanding but not accepting his mother's feudal remarks.
…
The morning court session was delayed a lot in winter. When Zhao Duan went out, it was not yet time for court session.
But he guessed that the court officials had already rushed to the Meridian Gate one after another.
He was not planning to go to the Throne Room today because he had more important things to do, or rather, in his and Yuan Li's plan, the impeachment in the Throne Room was the first half.
Yuan Li is in charge.
What Zhao Duan has to take charge of is the second half.
"Sir, are you waiting here?"
Xiao Wang stopped the carriage at an intersection and asked.
Zhao Duan pulled open the car curtain, nodded, and without lowering the curtain, he quietly watched the goose feather snow falling outside.
At this time, the entire street was covered with a layer of white, and there were far fewer pedestrians on the street than usual.
Yesterday, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory posted a notice that there would be a heavy snowstorm today, but it would only be in the afternoon and not very heavy at the moment.
Well, in a world with gods and magic, the weather forecast is indeed more accurate than in my previous life...
"drive!"
Suddenly, a carriage came from the street across the intersection and stopped when passing the intersection. The curtain was lifted, revealing the faces of Tang Ping and Tang Zhao, a brother and sister.
"Sir Zhao!" Tang Ping jumped off the carriage, walked to the outside of the carriage, bowed, and performed the etiquette of a subordinate meeting his superior.
Tang Zhaoze was not very willing to do so, so he followed and just nodded.
Zhao Duan did not get out of the car. He smiled through the window and said:
"How are the preparations going?"
Young Master Tang Ping patted his chest vigorously, indicating that the item was inside. His eyes seemed to be filled with dancing flames, a kind of excitement and excitement of participating in a major event:
"It has already been settled. My father also asked me to tell you that the nobles have also reached an agreement."
Zhao Duan nodded and smiled:
"Thank you for your hard work. It's almost time for court. Go to the palace quickly and don't miss the time."
Rouge Ma Tang Zhao blinked. She didn't bring her own lance today, and was wearing a thick red cloak. She asked curiously:
"Aren't you going with me?"
Zhao Duan waved his hand and said with a smile: "I'll be waiting for you outside."
Weird... Tang Zhao, who had wheat-colored skin, muttered to himself, turned around, got into the car with his brother, and headed straight for the palace.
Zhao Duan watched the siblings go away, lowered the curtains, leaned back against the soft car cushion, closed his eyes, and said calmly:
"Let's go to the next stop."
…
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
