Chapter 417: Your Majesty, we have lived up to your trust. Duke Anguo Cao Mao has submitted a letter of resignation and is willing to hand over military power.
In the imperial study.
"Squeak." After finishing his lunch, Xu Zhenguan walked back to the place where he handled government affairs, stood by the window, and pushed open a window with his slender white hands.
Woo——
The cold wind blew on the empress's face, slightly ruffling her hair. Xu Zhenguan's eyelashes trembled, and his eyes narrowed. His pupils, as clear as a baby's, reflected the snow outside the window, which was fluttering like catkins.
A little distracted.
She still remembered that the day of the Xuanmen coup was also a snowy day in the middle of winter.
At that time, shouts of killing filled every corner of the imperial city, and the flashes of swords and the shadows of sabers flashed by, and clumps of scarlet blood splattered on the spacious square of the Meridian Gate.
As the blood was spilled, the white snow in the sky was covered with a layer. This repeated several times, and the blood and snow merged together, almost turning the sky red.
Now it is almost the third year. The visible sword light has disappeared, but the invisible sword light has never stopped.
"call……"
The cold wind picked up a snowflake, which swirled into the window and was caught in the palm of the empress's raised right hand. It melted into a drop of water in a breath.
Xu Zhenguan pursed her lips, and a little of her sleepiness disappeared. She did not close the window, but turned around, walked to the desk, and sat down upright.
Holding a pen in one hand, she took a copy from the top of a pile of memorials on the table, which were sent from the Xiuwenguan and needed her personal review.
Unfolding, the empress raised her eyebrows.
This was a memorial sent by the Governor of the Southern Grain Transport Administration, requesting the court to appoint new local officials as soon as possible to fill the vacancies.
Along with the implementation of the "New Deal", the campaign to purge the previously redundant officialdom has also been carried out vigorously in the past few months.
The method of evaluating official administration proposed by Zhao Du'an had been initially drafted and implemented in Jiancheng Dao. As expected, a number of officials were dismissed.
When a group of people fall, new manpower is urgently needed to fill the gap. This was originally the responsibility of Li Yanfu, the Minister of Personnel, but now it has been returned to the hands of the empress through the "new cabinet".
"A new generation replaces the old."
The empress was in a daze, but her mind had already drifted outside the palace, worried about Duke Cao's final decision.
She went to great lengths to create such a situation, all for the purpose of regaining the military power of Jubei City at the lowest cost.
If Cao Mao refused to cooperate and fought with her, even if he could regain the military power in the end, he would have to pay a heavy price.
I was distracted for I don't know how long.
"Your Majesty," the female official's voice came from outside the door, "Lord Zhao requests an audience."
As if awakened from a dream, Xu Zhenguan stood up suddenly and said anxiously:
"Please come in!"
"Yes." The female official responded and left.
Xu Zhenguan could no longer sit still, and walked out quickly, his long black hair fluttering behind him. When she leaned against the door, he looked into the distance through the flying snow.
A moment later, a tall figure holding an oil-paper umbrella and wearing a red cloak walked over.
The umbrella was covered with accumulated snow, some of which fell on his cloak, and a little of it stuck to the black hair crown on Zhao Duan's head.
He walked across the courtyard, leaving a trail of footprints behind him, and the female officials and eunuchs nearby tactfully stepped back.
"Zhao Qing...how is it?"
Xu Zhenguan stared at him solemnly, a hint of uncertainty in his dark eyes.
Zhao Duan stepped into the corridor, closed the oil-paper umbrella with both hands, with the tip of the umbrella pointing downwards, and when he rotated the umbrella handle, the accumulated snow fell down.
He then looked towards the Empress, the corners of his expressionless face slowly lifted, and he presented the letter from his sleeve with both hands:
"Your Majesty, we have lived up to your trust. Duke Anguo Cao Mao has submitted his resignation and is willing to hand over military command. The northern border troops are now in your Majesty's possession."
The dust has settled!
Done!
As Zhao Duan said this, the heavy stone hanging in Xu Zhenguan's heart finally fell to the ground.
She was in a trance for a moment, and then the corners of her mouth rose, as if she wanted to laugh, but because Zhao Duan was present, she held it back. All the subtle expressions were extremely wonderful.
Zhao Duan blinked and said seriously, "It's bad for your health to hold it in. How about I give Your Majesty a smile first?"
“Puff!”
Unexpectedly, Xu Zhenguan was attacked with a funny remark, and his defense was finally broken. He could no longer maintain the dignified posture of the emperor and revealed an undisguised, happy smile.
No one knows how much pressure she has accumulated in her heart in the past few days. It involves a border army and is different from the struggle in the court.
At this moment, knowing that the great thing had been accomplished, the empress felt her shoulders relax and she felt an indescribable joy.
Zhao Duan found it interesting, blinked, and teased:
"Your Majesty, are you going to stand at the door and talk to me like this?"
The empress finally woke up from her joy, glared at him coquettishly, snatched the resignation letter, turned around and walked into the study.
She flipped through the book happily - just like a girl who received a New Year's present.
…
After Zhao Duan entered the room and took off his cloak, the emperor and his minister sat down, and the empress naturally asked for details.
Zhao Duan then recounted the entire incident, not forgetting to take credit for it to the others:
"This victory was achieved thanks to Your Majesty's wise leadership, Duke Yuan's overall control, and Duke Tang's significant contributions."
Xu Zhenguan couldn't hide his curiosity and asked:
"Earlier, Lord Yuan told me that he wanted to involve you in this matter, but he didn't go into detail. Now, can you tell me how you managed to get Lord Tang to help you?"
The empress was surprised because the appearance of Duke Tang was not in her plan.
In her original plan, the noble group in the capital would most likely help Cao Mao to repeatedly wrestle with the "Lang Shiba" case, which would inevitably involve many rounds of bargaining.
But after Zhao Duan joined, this problem that had originally given her a headache was easily solved.
"To be precise, it was not me who asked Duke Tang for help, but Duke Tang hinted from the beginning that I could look for him." Zhao Duan said seriously.
Talking about the process of seizing military power, looking back on it, he also felt that it was unexpectedly smooth.
That day, he was stopped by Yuan Li on his way home, and read a "top secret document" given to him by the latter in the carriage.
Its core content is the information about the group of spies that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince planted in Jubei City back then.
It was only after reading it that Zhao Duan suddenly realized that Zhenbao had already sharpened his knife. When the empress took advantage of the situation and allowed Cao Mao to throw Lang Shiba into prison, she had already begun planning to use this case to seize power.
After learning about the existence of the big spy "Luo Ke Di", Zhao Duan immediately had many associations.
For example, Duke Tang’s actions in the Ministry of Justice’s prison.
At that time, he thought that the other party was returning a favor for Tang Zhao's matter, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt something was wrong.
There are many ways to repay a favor, but helping him to slap Cao Mao in the face is undoubtedly a bit too much.
Even if there is a contradiction between the two, it is somewhat abrupt.
After realizing this, Zhao Duan thought carefully and remembered that many generals returned to Beijing at the end of this year.
Duke Tang was the only one who was completely unreserved. Not only did he keep his only son in the Shenji Camp and did not transfer him away, but when he returned to Beijing, he also brought his daughter back with him.
Even if he was not given face at the beginning, it was only targeted at him, not the court.
"It was then that I suddenly realized that from Duke Tang's perspective, his going to the Ministry of Justice to support me seemed like a favor, but in reality, he was making his position clear."
Zhao Duan sighed:
"Zhao Shixiong's failure to return must have made Duke Tang feel the need to further demonstrate his loyalty to the court. Especially since I know the two dukes already have a feud, I simply went with the flow and went to Duke Tang to express my intention to impeach Cao Mao.
Duke Tang agreed very readily, almost taking the initiative to take on the task of persuading the nobles...
"And if a powerful duke from the previous emperor's time came forward personally, it would certainly be more appropriate for you, or even Your Majesty, to speak... Duke Chen agreed to come forward because he was aware of the current situation in the State of Yu and did not want to see any more disputes."
After Zhao Duan said this, he also felt emotional.
It can be said that seizing power from Cao Mao was the most successful attempt he had ever made to overthrow powerful officials in the past, but if you think about it carefully, it is not surprising.
Because in this power struggle, Cao Mao was almost completely at a disadvantage.
If he hadn't returned to Beijing, things might have been extremely difficult, but from the moment he returned, it was like a fly stepping into a spider's web.
The Empress, Duke Tang, Duke Chen, Yuan Li, Luo Ke Di... blocked and strangled them from all directions.
Zhao Duan's greatest role in this, in addition to inciting public opinion, was to act as a go-between and unite various forces to launch a thundering attack.
With such a large scale and such a huge disparity in strength, it would be surprising if Cao Mao was not unhappy about his defeat.
From another perspective, a year ago, Zhao Duan was still a small figure who could only rely on the power of others to barely mobilize manpower and defeat powerful enemies.
But today, he actually already holds great power and has formed alliances. The reason why this time was so smooth is not because his status is no longer the same as before, right?
"Duke Tang is thoughtful," Xu Zhenguan was also quite touched after hearing this, and said self-deprecatingly:
"If all those generals were like Duke Tang, why would I worry about the stability of my country?"
Zhao Duan hesitated and asked tentatively:
"Then what does Your Majesty intend to do with Zhao Shixiong?"
When this name was mentioned, Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes were filled with anger, but she still took a deep breath and said slowly:
"And appeasement is the best."
Zhao Duan nodded, not surprised.
This is the best way. If Zhao Shixiong doesn't come back, it will be difficult to check and balance the power, especially after the news of Cao Mao's retirement spread, Zhao Shixiong dared not come back.
"Prince Mu has repeatedly tried to win over Zhao Shixiong, and now I'm afraid it's starting to show results."
Xu Zhenguan sighed and said, "The Yu Kingdom has been seriously ill for a long time. We shouldn't rush into action. At least now that the risk of Jubei City has been resolved, the King of Yanshan in the north will no longer be a threat."
Zhao Duan thought for a moment and said:
"Duke Tang told me that the reason he heard the rumors about me and the young master was because of the Prince of Hejian in Xiping Road. Cao Mao learned of Lang Shiba's identity, and although he hasn't interrogated him yet, it must be related to Prince Jing or Prince Yanshan. These people are really masters at sowing discord."
Xu Zhenguan said contemptuously, "Sowing discord is ultimately a shady tactic."
Zhao Duan nodded and said with a smile:
“However, thanks to their instigation, Duke Tang was further inclined towards the imperial court, and Cao Mao defected prematurely.
After this incident, the Hejian Prince of Xiping Road was suppressed by Duke Tang, and the Yanshan Prince of Tieguan Road was counterbalanced by Luo Kedi. Thus, two of the eight princes were eliminated.
Counting the already wavering Prince of Huai'an, and the weakest Prince of Qiong, who is in Lingnan and unlikely to become a major force... there are only four left."
Xu Zhenguan glanced at him with amusement:
"You are good at comforting people. None of the eunuchs around me are as good at speaking as you."
Zhao Duan was shocked and waved his hand to refuse sternly:
"I still need to remain useful and work hard for Your Majesty, but I dare not compete with the eunuchs."
Xu Zhenguan spat, "Shameless."
Zhao Duan was surprised:
Zhen Bao actually understood? Your Majesty is so amazing...
The king and his minister chatted and laughed for a while, then Zhao Duan stood up and said goodbye:
"If there is nothing else, I will take my leave now."
This time it was Xu Zhenguan's turn to be stunned. She stared at him in disbelief, thinking, shouldn't you be so shameless as to stay in the palace overnight on the pretext of heavy snow and wind?
At the very least, you have to get a free meal. Why did you leave so easily this time?
Changed sex?
Zhao Duan seemed to see through her thoughts and said seriously:
"Your Majesty, do you think that I am truly a frivolous person?"
After saying this, seeing that the empress was stunned and speechless, Zhao Duan bowed, put on his cloak in a dashing manner, picked up the oil-paper umbrella on the door panel, stepped into the wind and snow again, and left.
After walking out of the bedroom in one breath, Zhao Duan's mouth curled up slightly:
"Zhenbao, ah Zhenbao, let me show you some tricks..."
If a dog keeps licking, people will take it for granted. However, if he changes his nature appropriately, it will have a miraculous effect.
…
Inside the bedroom.
Xu Zhenguan stood quietly at the door, looking in the direction Zhao Duan left, lost in thought.
The female officials nearby glanced cautiously and exchanged glances:
What's wrong with you, Your Majesty? You seemed quite happy just now...
Also, Lord Zhao left so quickly this time. Wasn’t he going to stay overnight?
Suddenly, the female officials who couldn't restrain their gossiping hearts were stared at by a pair of eyes. They shrank their necks and bowed their heads to salute Mo Zhaorong who was walking from a distance.
I dare not think about it anymore.
The "First Female Official" Mo Chou walked up to the Empress and asked softly, "Your Majesty?"
Xu Zhenguan finally came to her senses. She glanced at her trusted maid and suddenly asked, "What are you doing?"
"Master Zhao has made many contributions in the past few months. Have I forgotten to reward him?"
"Ah?" Mo Chou was stunned.
Xu Zhenguan muttered a few vague sentences to himself, and suddenly seemed to have made a decision and said:
"In a few days, it will be New Year's Eve. According to the rules, the Emperor will hold a 'grand banquet'. I must entertain all officials in the Imperial Palace to celebrate New Year's Eve together... You must summon the officials from the Eastern Palace... Everything must be kept secret and not disclosed."
The Empress whispered a few words. Mo Chou was confused at first, but gradually turned to astonishment:
"Your Majesty, this... is inappropriate, right? Lord Zhao is only a fourth-rank deputy commander. How can he..."
Xu Zhenguan hesitated for two seconds and asked, "Then let's give him a promotion first?"
Then he said with a sad face: "It's a bit too late."
"...I will go to the East Palace right now!"
Mo Chou hurriedly interrupted the empress's wild thoughts and strange ideas, took the order and left, her steps hurried, almost running away.
Looking towards the palace gate, his eyes were filled with resentment:
"What kind of magic potion have you given His Majesty? You want His Majesty to prepare a special 'surprise' for you?"
…
…
On the other hand, Mr. Zhao, who had no idea that the empress had prepared a generous gift for him, left the palace in a happy mood.
He took the horse back from the guards, looked at the falling snow, and rode towards the Ministry of Justice prison.
A moment later.
Zhao Duan arrived outside the prison again. This time, Minister Huang was not there. The "warden" in charge of the prison came out eagerly, with a big smile on his face:
"Sir, you are here to see that..."
"Well, lead the way." Zhao Duan said lightly.
The jailer didn't dare to ask any more questions and just led the way. After a while, Zhao Duan saw Lang Shiba in the prison again.
At this moment, Lang Shiba, who was completely unaware of the changes in the external situation, was standing at the vent, looking up and feeling the wind.
The wind and snow poured in from the "品"-shaped vents, and the cold snow flakes sprinkled on the face of the Northern Blood Blade.
"What a pleasure! I thought you would give up on yourself and lie down waiting to die." Zhao Duan's voice came.
Lang Shiba opened his eyes, dragged his shackles, and slowly turned around. Under his messy long hair, his weathered face covered with blue stubble looked at Zhao Duan with surprise and explained:
"I grew up in Tieguandao, and in my memory, every New Year's Eve was covered with snow.
When I was seven years old, a Taoist priest came to my house to ask for water. He told me that it would snow on the day I was born, and it would snow on the day I died. Now it seems that the Taoist priest had magical powers.
Lang Shiba smiled and looked at Zhao Duan's empty hands, as if he had understood something, and said:
"Has my case been decided? When will I be taken to the execution ground? Today or tomorrow?"
Zhao Duan shook his head and said in the latter's confused eyes:
"Your case will be retried in a few days. However, because Cao Mao resigned, this case will not involve too many people. It will only focus on his son who was killed by you. It's not perfect, but at least you won't die.
Well, I came here to tell you, don't be so foolish as to commit suicide prematurely. Stay here for a few more days. Once the case is completed, His Majesty will grant you a pardon... Then, you can regain your original identity."
Lang Shiba's expression froze for a moment, his mind seemingly clogged with rusty gears, unable to turn.
"What's the meaning?"
Zhao Duan patiently explained what happened and then said:
"That's about it. I'm leaving now. I'll give you a welcome drink when you come out."
After a pause, he added, "It seems that Taoist priest is a liar."
Zhao Duan turned and left.
Only Lang Shiba was left standing in the cell in a daze, his messy hair illuminated by the beam of light coming through the hole.
He suddenly rushed to the cell door, gripping the railings with both hands, and looked towards the end of the corridor, where Zhao Duan was about to leave, and shouted loudly:
"Sir! Can I still serve you in the future?"
Zhao Duan's back paused:
"random."
Immediately, he walked out of the prison gate, raised his face, and let the cold snowflakes fall on his face.
He knew in his heart: It was not until this moment that he could completely accept the great general Lang Shiba.
…
…
The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
"Father! Father!"
Two figures quickly pushed the door open and entered the courtyard, walking along the courtyards of the mansions while shouting excitedly.
A moment later, Tang Zhao and Tang Ping, brother and sister, excitedly pushed open the door of the study and looked at Duke Tang, who was dressed like a wealthy man and was holding a thick wolf-hair brush, writing with ink.
The latter raised his eyebrows and smiled: "It seems to be good news."
Rouge Ma Tang Zhao said with great joy:
"Cao Mao has taken the initiative to submit his resignation! That Cao Ke Di has actually already surrendered to Your Majesty and will return to Jubei City to take over Cao Mao's position!"
Young Master Tang Ping was not as quick-witted as his second sister, so he could only say:
"I heard that you invited Duke Chen to come out of retirement? How did you do that?"
Although the two of them only participated in the small task of military public opinion in this operation, they got the opportunity to go to the Golden Palace and present a petition.
This would be extremely exciting, not only Tang Ping, but even Tang Zhao felt it was thrilling... It was more interesting than winning a war.
Duke Tang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized:
"Cao Ke Di...is it really him?"
The brother and sister gathered around, chattering about the details:
"Father, please tell us what exactly happened. Also...what did Lord Zhao discuss with you when he came that night? Was it to convey His Majesty's decree?"
Duke Tang smiled and shook his head.
"It's not that complicated. He spoke, and I, as a father, waited for him to speak. That's all."
The brother and sister looked at each other and exchanged glances.
Tang Ping: Second sister, do you understand?
Tang Zhao: What do you think?
Tang Ping: ...
The brother and sister looked up to the sky and sighed, the court was so complicated.
…
…
Zhaoyamen, Lihuatang.
The group of men in brocade robes returned to the hall in a mighty procession, each of them still excitedly discussing what had just happened.
Qian Kerou pushed open the duty room door, sat down, and looked around:
"Hey, the one in red clothes without eyes..."
Hou Ren suddenly took off his sword and placed it horizontally on the table: "Ji Yue."
"Yes, what about that Ji Yueren? Didn't the Lord ask her to live in the hall first?" Qian Kerou asked.
The men in brocade clothes stopped moving abruptly and looked at each other in confusion.
Then he became nervous. If he lost the person, wouldn't it be difficult for the adults to come back...
"Ah! There's a ghost in the well!"
Suddenly, there was a cry of surprise from outside the door.
Everyone was stunned and ran out to the well in the next yard.
A white servant in charge of the kitchen in the yamen sat on the ground, using his hands and feet in fear to retreat away from the wellhead, with a bucket of water lying on the ground next to him.
Seeing someone coming, he shouted, "I...I came to draw water and saw a head at the bottom of the well!"
Everyone felt like they were facing a powerful enemy.
The next second, the sorceress Ji Yue, who was soaking wet, with disheveled hair and pupilless eyes, slowly climbed out of the well.
Everyone: “…”
Ji Yue weakly faced countless gazes and explained in a low voice: "I..."
Chen Juan took a deep breath and said, "You don't need to explain, we all understand! Well, my master will be back soon, and asked me to bring you a message."
"Ah?" Ji Yue was confused.
Qian Kerou continued, "My master said that Lang Shiba won't die."
"Ah?" Ji Yue was stunned.
…
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
Thanks to the book friend 2021...9606 for the 1,000 points and Xiao Xiaowei for the 200 points.
(End of this chapter)
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