Chapter 416: Snow Flies All Over the Sky to Send Someone Away (5k)
What a shameless Duke...
Flakes of snow fell on everyone. After Zhao Duan calmly uttered these words, the whole house suddenly became quiet.
Silence.
The beard on Cao Mao's face stretched out in response, like a hedgehog. He was stunned for a moment, as if he couldn't believe it. Then, the anger in his eyes almost burst out, and he squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth:
"What did you say?"
Zhao Duan pretended to be confused and smiled:
"I praised the Duke of Anguo for his fine sword. Didn't the Duke hear clearly?"
Cao Mao's chest heaved, his fists hanging in his sleeves creaked, and he closed his eyes.
After a moment, he opened his eyes again, and his expression had become calm.
He suspected that Zhao Duan was deliberately provoking him, especially at this sensitive juncture.
If this were Jubei City, anyone who dared to speak to him like this would definitely not survive the next quarter of an hour. Unfortunately, this was not the city.
So, he chose to endure it.
"Good, very good," Cao Mao said slowly. He raised his right hand, pointed at the large number of officials in the courtyard, drew a semicircle, and said indifferently: "What does this mean?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"Don't misunderstand, Duke. We at the Imperial Court have received news that someone has been suspected of interfering with the judiciary in recent days, and have issued orders to many government offices in the city.
The Imperial Court has the responsibility of supervising all officials. After I learned about this, I followed the clues and found that they led me to the Duke of Anguo's residence. I came here today just to ask questions, but I didn't expect that someone under me would misunderstand me and cause such a commotion."
Interference with the judiciary... Cao Mao's face trembled, and he thought to himself, you might as well print the word "nonsense" on your face.
It sounds as if you are not the one who greets the major government offices and issues private orders.
"This matter has nothing to do with me. Zhao Jisi should look for another place." Cao Mao said calmly.
Zhao Duan shook his head and said seriously:
"That's not how the case is handled. Wouldn't the Duke invite me into the hall and sit down?"
Cao Mao was silent for a moment, turned around and walked towards the back hall, with Cao Ke Di following closely behind him.
"Sir..." Qian Kerou cast a questioning look, but saw Zhao Duan gently shaking his head. He looked around at his men and said:
"You guys stay here and proceed according to plan."
After saying this, he followed the father and son. The rest of the people in the Duke's Mansion were stared at by the Jinyi Guards and did not dare to move.
…
Back hall.
Cao Mao walked into the room and sat in the main seat with an expressionless face. Cao Kedi stood beside him but did not sit down.
The father and son stared at Zhao Duan who came in alone, and the latter did not close the door after entering.
There was heavy snow outside, so he left the double doors open, dragged out a chair as if he was in a familiar position, placed it in the middle of the back hall, and then sat down leisurely with his legs crossed.
With a smile on his face, he said, "When the Duke entertains guests, doesn't he serve tea?"
Nonsense, the maids are all under the control of your people, do you still want me to pour tea for you?
Cao Mao's temples throbbed, and he said in a cold voice:
"If you have anything to ask, say it quickly and get out."
Zhao Duan smiled and was not annoyed. He reached out and touched the "shirt pocket" and then remembered that he was wearing ancient costume. He felt very regretful and thought that taking out a pen and paper to take notes would be more in line with the picture.
Shaking his head, he suddenly stared at the temples of Duke Anguo and said:
"How old is the Duke this year?"
Cao Mao stared at him: "What does this have to do with you?"
Zhao Duan said innocently:
"Don't be so angry. I have admired Duke Anguo for a long time. I have heard others mention that the Duke was deeply trusted by the late emperor and had been in charge of Jubei City for many years. According to the laws of the Dayu Dynasty, military generals have a term of command, but the Duke did not follow it."
The more Cao Mao listened, the more he felt something was wrong. He interrupted rudely:
"What do you want to say?"
The old Duke, with deep wrinkles on his face, had a cold look in his eyes:
"If you're here to inquire about a case, then ask. If you're here to deliver a message for someone, then deliver it. I've been in the military for many years, and I don't understand, nor do I want to understand, the evasive rhetoric of you Beijing officials. I'm even more lazy about beating around the bush. Either speak directly, or... defeat the enemy and prepare to send you away!"
Still impatient... Zhao Duan smiled helplessly and sighed softly:
"I originally wanted to be polite to the Duke... well, I came here today to offer a word of advice. The Duke, when he came to court today, should have seen that the court has been filled with many new faces, both civil and military.
As the saying goes, times change, and circumstances change. Your Majesty, sympathizing with the Duke's age, intends to invite him to remain in the capital to enjoy his retirement. As for the military power in the north, it's time to hand it over to the younger generation, and let go. Don't you agree?"
Take back the military power!
At this moment, even though he was mentally prepared, Duke Anguo, who was sitting in the armchair, was still shocked.
Finally...it's here!
Cao Mao certainly knew that after the empress's throne was consolidated, she would gradually take back the military power and entrust the troops to the generals newly promoted by the empress.
But this day came much sooner than he expected.
Even though he had already confirmed in the Golden Palace that the empress was going to attack him, the fact that she came directly to his door and asked him to hand over his military power was still so simple and rough that it made him lose his mind for a moment.
How dare she...? Where does she get the confidence from?
How could the capital city become so unfamiliar in just one year?
Cao Mao was a little confused.
Zhao Duan leaned back in his chair, his hands folded, his eyes sincere. "I didn't want to be so direct, but since the Duke wants to get straight to the point, I'll have to do as you wish."
Cao Mao's voice was slightly hoarse, and his expression was unusually calm:
"What if I don't want to?"
Zhao Duan stared at him without saying a word. After a moment, he shook his head slightly, as if facing a stubborn prisoner.
"The Duke has spent his entire life in the military, so he should be a wise man. A wise man knows when to advance and when to retreat.
Now, the case of Lang Shiba is about to be retried, but the choice of how to conduct the trial and to what extent is not in my hands, nor in the hands of Your Majesty, but in your hands, Duke. "
He didn't explain his words clearly, but how could Duke Cao not understand?
If he cooperated and handed over his military power, the empress was willing to give him a relatively decent ending.
But if he is unwilling, this old case that has caused a huge uproar will make him, the Duke, completely infamous forever.
As long as one is willing to dig deeper, this case is enough to implicate the entire Cao family in many crimes. By then, many crimes will be revealed to the world, and the entire Anguo Mansion will be ruined by this major case.
Cao Mao suddenly understood. He finally understood the whole intention of the empress's drama in the Golden Palace.
It is not only to win over the morale of the troops, but also to use him as a bargaining chip to control him. There are two possible sentences: a light sentence or a heavy sentence. It all depends on what he chooses.
However, Cao Mao shook his head. He suddenly looked down at Zhao Duan with a slight sneer:
"Do you know what makes a noble noble? How has my title of Duke of Anguo been passed down from generation to generation?
No, a new noble like you doesn't know that His Majesty has only just ascended the throne and doesn't seem to understand it very well. You want to depose me? The previous emperor couldn't do it, so you think you can do it?"
Zhao Duan's eyes were filled with pity:
"Duke Cao wouldn't want to tell me that the nobles in the capital will help you, right?"
Cao Mao said nothing.
Zhao Duan sighed and said with a headache:
"Yes, of course you would think so. Not to mention the nobles, even the local aristocrats know the principle of forming alliances and marrying each other for self-protection. But Duke Cao, you don't really think that this relationship is so unbreakable, do you?"
Cao Mao said nothing.
Just at this moment, outside the open door, in front of the courtyard where snow was falling, there was a commotion.
Zhao Duan did not stand up, but turned back in his chair and said with a smile:
"People are coming."
Who?
Cao Mao and his son raised their heads, their sight passing Zhao and the drifting goose-feather snow, and saw an old man walking slowly towards them, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, his hair as white as snow, and thin but wrapped in expensive and gorgeous clothes.
There was a woman supporting him.
Most people in the capital don't know this person.
However, no one would ignore the purple gold belt given by the emperor around the old man's waist, which was inlaid with eighteen jades.
Cao Mao stood up in shock and cried out, "Duke Chen?!"
Another Duke!
He was a Duke of a very special position, not controlling military power, and even within his family there were few who held real power. He kept a very low profile in the capital, almost a vanishing aristocracy.
Because he was too low-key, even though Zhao Duan had been making a fuss in the capital for a year, it was still the first time he met this special Duke.
When Duke Chen was at the height of his fame, during the childhood of the late Emperor, Zhao Duan did not know much about this man's past, but he knew that he enjoyed a very high prestige among the nobles.
Although everyone knows that once this old Duke, who has not much time left, dies, the Chen Duke's Mansion will completely fall from the ranks of nobles.
But at the same time, as long as he is still alive, even if he is an old emperor who has not passed away, he must be respected.
He is also the soul figure who maintains the entire noble group.
"Why are you here?" Cao Mao had a bad feeling in his heart.
Duke Chen, who was very old and had one foot halfway into the coffin but still hanging on to his breath, had long since ignored worldly matters and walked to the door.
On his wrinkled and spotted face, his cloudy eyes stared at Cao Mao, and he spoke the first sentence in a very soft voice:
"Master Tang found me a few days ago."
Cao Mao's heart trembled, and he opened his mouth: "He slandered me again?"
Duke Chen shook his head slowly, looking at Duke Cao, who was old but much younger than himself, with complicated eyes, and said his second sentence:
"He told me that Zhao Shixiong never returned to Beijing."
Cao Mao was stunned.
Then, Duke Chen began to cough violently, prompting the woman next to him to gently stroke his bony back. No one spoke, only the sound of falling snow and the old man's cough echoed in the hall.
Finally, Duke Chen stopped coughing and uttered his third sentence:
"When it's time to let go, let go."
Cao Mao's heart sank to the bottom.
He didn't know what exactly happened during that period, but he already understood that he had been abandoned by the noble group.
Duke Chen, leaning on his dragon-headed cane, turned around and glanced at Zhao Duan, who had been standing respectfully beside him. He looked at him carefully for a moment, as if he was observing his appearance.
After seeing that he was indeed a good match for the empress, he nodded slightly with satisfaction, without saying anything, and just like that, trembling, with the woman's support, he walked out of the back hall again and left the Duke's Mansion.
Only after watching him disappear did Zhao Duan turn around again, brush off his robe, and sit back in his chair. Looking at Cao Mao who had also returned to the main seat, he smiled and said,
"Now, has the Duke agreed?"
Cao Mao remained silent for a long time before he calmly said:
"You two have been colluding for a long time. No wonder you went to the Ministry of Justice to visit the prisoner. It was to obtain the oral testimony of the Northern Blood Blade. No wonder Tang supported you, thinking that he had already joined forces with His Majesty and wanted to sell me out in exchange for his own stable position."
No... you are quite imaginative... Zhao Duan laughed in silence.
What do you mean? You guessed wrong in the process, but got the result right?
Cao Mao shook his head, as if he had made a decision, his eyes cold:
"Even if the nobles in the city don't want to help me, what if I still don't agree?"
The ferocity of a northern wolf king finally appeared on his face. He clenched his hands tightly on the brown, cracked armrests of the armchair, almost leaving ten fingerprints on the wood!
He leaned forward, staring at Zhao Duan, his mouth slowly curling up:
"You can depose me if you want, but who are you going to let take over my position? Believe it or not, as long as I don't give my approval, no one in the entire Dayu Dynasty can safely take over the northern border army!"
Finally, he personally stated what he relied on most.
It is also his greatest source of confidence, the territory he has painstakingly managed for many years!
Who can answer?
No one can answer!
What does it mean to have a strong army and hold it in high esteem? This is what it means to have a strong army and hold it in high esteem!
This is also the point that Cao Mao cannot understand the most - could it be that the empress was blinded by success and really thought that the local military power could be transferred with just an imperial edict?
If the State of Yu had not been in turmoil, there might have been a great chance that the prince would have succeeded to the throne smoothly.
But Xu Zhenguan was not the crown prince, and the current Yu State could not withstand too much turmoil.
How dare she?
Cao Mao is laughing.
Zhao Duan was also laughing.
The pity in his eyes was not concealed, like sharp arrows about to pierce Duke Cao's heart.
Zhao Duan shook his head and smiled. He sighed once more, but not for himself, but for the stubborn old man in front of him:
"Duke Cao, it seems you truly despise His Majesty from the bottom of your heart. Otherwise, why would you ask such a foolish question?"
He sneered, "Do you really think that after Your Majesty has built public opinion, arranged a case sufficient for your trial, and removed the noble helpers you pinned your hopes on, you would miss the most crucial move?"
Zhao Duan slowly restrained his smile and finally lost his last patience. As he calmly uttered a few words, the smile on Cao Mao's face suddenly froze.
"Brother Cao, the Duke wants to ask you, after he retires from the army, who will inherit the military power?"
The words fell.
In the room, Cao Kedi, who had been quietly acting as a background board, finally took a slow step from his adoptive father's side to Zhao Duan's side.
Then... he slowly turned around and looked calmly into the eyes of Duke Cao in the hall.
The deputy general of Jubei City, who was used to wearing dark armor and had eyebrows as thick and straight as knives, smiled and said, "Foster father, what do you think of me?"
boom!
At this moment, although it was the dead of winter, Cao Mao seemed to hear a thunderclap in his mind.
He seemed to be struck by thunder, his face turned pale in an instant, and his eyes were as big as copper bells.
He stared at his adopted son in Jubei City in disbelief, whose military prestige was second only to his own and even stronger than his own son, and uttered:
"You... betrayed... me?!"
Cao Kedi shook his head seriously and corrected:
"Foster father... No, Duke Cao, you are wrong. I have never betrayed you."
After a pause, Cao Kedi explained seriously in the latter's blank gaze:
"Because I have never been yours from the beginning. Or rather, ever since I entered Jubei City as a low-ranking military officer ten years ago, my mission has been to gain your trust at all costs, so that I can gradually take control of the border defense of Jubei City and prepare for today."
spy!
Not a traitor, but a spy!
Hearing this answer, Cao Mao's heart was not filled with anger, but was filled with huge confusion:
"Ten years ago... how could it be possible... she was still a princess then..."
"Prince," Cao Kedi answered calmly:
"Ten years ago, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arranged for me to enter Jubei City. At that time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had already seen that you would become a hidden danger if you stayed in the north for too long, so he stationed a group of shadow guards, including me, in the north.
However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not anticipate the changes that have occurred. After the Xuanmen coup, His Majesty took over the Palace Shadow Guards, and was able to re-establish contact with us."
Cao Kedi paused and said with some emotion:
"The Crown Prince had not originally thought that I could reach the position of deputy general. In your Highness's expectation, you, the Duke, would definitely gradually hand over the military power to your sons. As an outsider, I would not be able to achieve a high position even if I was adopted as your son.
But what can you do? The son you once had the highest hopes for died at the hands of Lang Shiba because he couldn't control his selfish desires. After that, even if you tried to support your other two sons, they were still hopeless. You could only let me take over some of the military power...
But you were worried about me, so even when you went to Kyoto, you took me with you instead of your two biological sons.
You told me you were training me, but in reality, how could I not see that you were worried that if I left, I would stay in the north and take away your power?
Cao Kedi shook his head and sighed:
"But what difference does it make? Let me make it clear to you: whether you give up your military power or not, His Majesty will not allow you to leave the capital today.
I will return to Jubei City to take over the military command. Your two young masters also have Shadow Guards lurking around them. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they have already been apprehended. As for the life and death of these two young masters, it all depends on your decision."
He finished speaking in one breath.
Cao Kedi, who was a shadow guard but unexpectedly rose to the position of deputy general, seemed to have vented all the words he had been holding back. He turned his head with ease, glanced at Zhao Duan, and said with a smile:
"I've offended the Ministry of Justice a few days ago. Lord Zhao, I hope you will forgive me."
Zhao Duan laughed:
"Cao... No, from now on you should change back to your own last name. General Na Luo, congratulations in advance."
Luo Kedi clasped his hands together and bowed, smiling.
After years of hard work as a shadow guard, he finally made it to the top. How could he not be happy?
The two men exchanged greetings with a smile, completely forgetting about Duke Cao who was sitting there in a daze, as if his soul had been withdrawn.
Zhao Duan turned around, glanced at Cao Mao, took out a blank letter from his sleeve, walked over, bent down, and gently placed it in front of him.
He then thrust a pen into the hand of Cao Mao, who seemed to have aged ten years in an instant and had a broken spine, and said:
"Duke Cao, we're waiting for you outside the door."
…
Zhao Duan and Luo Kedi walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.
The two stood under the eaves, watching the increasingly heavy snow falling outside and waiting silently.
"Sir Zhao, do you think he will resign voluntarily?" Luo Ke Di suddenly asked.
Zhao Duan looked at him with a smile: "Shouldn't you know better than me?"
Luo Kedi shook his head and said, "In the past ten years, I still couldn't see through Cao Mao."
Zhao Duan smiled and patted his shoulder, saying:
"People are not that complicated. People like this are just cowards."
Luo Kedi was stunned.
About a quarter of an hour later, Luo Kedi pushed the door open and walked out with a strange expression on his face, holding a memorial requesting to be discharged from the army and return to the countryside.
"What did I say? Such selfish people are unwilling to risk their lives."
Zhao Duan put the memorial into his sleeve, shook his bright red cloak, and said with a smile:
"General Lao Luo will handle the aftermath. I will go to the palace to report to His Majesty."
"please."
Zhao Duan walked lightly and told everyone in Lihua Hall to go back first. He walked out of the Duke's Mansion, jumped on his horse, and headed straight for the palace.
At this time, at noon, just as the Imperial Astronomical Observatory had said, the snow was getting heavier.
There were almost no people on the streets, and the entire capital was covered in white snow.
Zhao Duan entered the imperial city.
He dismounted and, wearing a red cloak, walked alone along the deserted, snow-covered Meridian Gate Square towards the Empress's bedroom.
Snow is flying all over the sky, the palace walls are crimson, and I am alone.
Snow is flying all over the sky, sending one person off.
…
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
(End of this chapter)
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