Chapter 83 Chapter 83 "Tell me, how should you compensate...
Nearing noon, restaurants and bars in the capital were bustling with people and diners.
At present, Wanhelou, the most magnificent and popular restaurant in Chang'an City, has a particularly large number of people coming and going.
Zhou Jingzhi sat on the top floor of the attic, looking down from the inner window, and had a panoramic view of the first floor hall of Dafang.
He saw a burly man in luxurious clothes and wrist guards step into the restaurant.
The man looked up and saw him at a glance.
The two of them smiled at each other, a brief moment of contempt.
Soon after, the door of the attic where Zhou Jingzhi was was opened.
"Minister Xu invited me here. What do you want to tell me?"
As heavy footsteps stepped into the room, the powerful voice rang out.
Zhou Jingzhi just took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and looked slowly towards the door - the person who came in was the one who had just looked at him downstairs.
Huo Gan, the governor of the Shen Ce Army camp, who returned to Beijing to report on his work.
Zhou Jingzhi didn't stand up after putting down the teacup. Instead, he smiled and raised his hand to the seat opposite him, saying, "The commander-in-chief has arrived. Please take a seat. I just made some tea and was just thinking of offering it to the commander-in-chief when he arrived."
Although the chief of the Shen Ce Army was also called Jiedushi, because the Shen Ce Army was stationed in the capital, and although its main purpose was to protect the capital, it was difficult to guarantee that there would be no disturbances after it became powerful. Therefore, since its establishment, the imperial court had strictly controlled it through various means of suppression. Naturally, the power of the Jiedushi of the Shen Ce Army camp was not as great as that of the Jiedushi in the local area.
However, it still has its own unique deterrent power.
Huo Gan was quite arrogant. After he sat down, he rested his hands on the table and watched Zhou Jingzhi pour him tea without even reaching out to take it. "Minister Xu hasn't said what the matter is yet."
Zhou Jingzhi moved slowly and unhurriedly, slowly pushing the teacup over. "General Jie has just left. Why don't you have some tea first to moisten your throat? As for what I want to say, General Jie, please listen while you sip your tea. It won't delay your tea time."
Hogan couldn't help but smile from the bottom of his heart when he heard this.
You have to know that the person in front of him is a fourth-rank Zhongshu Shilang. Although his official rank is not as high as his, that position is a truly important central position and is also the position of future prime minister.
The man held such a position and yet treated him with such respect and courtesy, he really had to look at him differently.
He listened to the man's words, picked up the teacup, and prepared to taste the fragrant new tea. "On my way back to the capital, I had a general understanding of the major events that had taken place there recently. I had heard many stories about Minister Xu, so I wondered if it would be possible to meet him in person and get to know him. I never thought that my dream would come true today."
"So Minister Xu said, isn't it a coincidence?" The teacup touched his lips, and Huo Gan moved his wrist, sipping the tea bit by bit along the rim of the cup, but his eyes were always on the face of the person sitting opposite him.
Zhou Jingzhi pretended not to notice his scrutiny, lowered his eyes and smiled, "I am truly honored to have the General on my side." He then cut to the point, "I invited the General here today because I wanted to discuss matters concerning the Shen Ce Army."
Huo Gan put down his teacup with a smile and said lazily, "Are you talking about the concurrent duties of the envoy?"
He looked at the person sitting opposite him and saw that person's eyebrows twitched. Huo Gan continued with some pride, "Someone has already told me about this matter, and he is right. After I arrive in Beijing, someone in the capital will mention this matter to me, and the person he pointed out is also right. It is you, Xu Shilang of the Secretariat."
Zhou Jingzhi asked, "Did Lord Su from the Ministry of Rites come looking for you?"
Huo Gan's eyes lit up, his surprise mixed with a hint of delight. "I've heard rumors before that the newly promoted Xu Shuangyuan is comparable in all aspects to Lord Su, who held a high position in the court before he even reached twenty. Today, I see it's true."
"You two really have each other's minds figured out." At this point, Huo Gan admitted, "It was indeed him who came to me. But he didn't just tell me this one thing, he also introduced me to many people related to Lord Xu."
Zhou Jingzhi immediately opened his eyelids and looked straight at him.
Huo Gan laughed, "Lord Xu is close to that person in the palace, right? So Lord Xu's visit to me today was also the idea of that person in the palace?"
Zhou Jingzhi said coldly: "Isn't this good? Isn't it more of a guarantee for you?"
"No, no, no, that's certainly not a guarantee," Huo Gan denied flatly. "You're trying to win me over now simply because of the struggle between you and Prime Minister Su. But what does this have to do with me? I'm already a military governor. Whoever wins or loses, how much benefit can I get?"
Zhou Jingzhi's eyes were deep: "The Shen Ce Army guards the capital and is directly controlled by the imperial court."
Huo Gan: "That's just to protect the capital and obey the orders of the court. What I'm doing now is correct. As for your majesty... the Imperial Guards are here, and they are the ones protecting your majesty."
Zhou Jingzhi sneered twice: "General Jie has calculated these accounts clearly."
Huo Gan accepted this and said, "Not only have I settled these accounts clearly, I have also settled other accounts clearly. I can take sides between you, but judging by the history of monarchs and generals throughout the ages, if I side with you, I will only be burying a knife in my own future."
"I'm sure Minister Xu is also aware that the imperial court has placed numerous constraints on the Shen Ce Army since its establishment. First, the three envoys, Jiedushi, Yingtianshi, and Zhidushi, were separated. Then, in addition to the military supervisors, there were also regular performance reports and rotations of generals. Such complex measures were simply because the imperial court wanted to completely control the Shen Ce Army, and the most important thing to do was to satisfy the heart of the emperor, the ruler of the country."
"Although the master is young and doesn't have such complicated thoughts, doesn't the Empress Dowager, who represents his power, have any? So, if I really listen to you, Master Xu, and follow the Empress Dowager, although I can get some benefits now, but in the future, when the person you want to get rid of falls or dies, won't I be the next one to be liquidated?"
In response to these pointed questions, Zhou Jingzhi looked at the person sitting opposite him with a half-smile: "Are these words said because the commander listened to the advice of others?"
Huo Gan lowered his eyes and was silent for a moment, thinking that there was no need to beat around the bush with such a smart person, so he said, "Yes."
"That Lord Su again?"
"That's right."
"And the price he offered was even higher than what Lord Xu offered." Huo Gan paused and lowered his voice, "The price he offered was for a Jiedushi to serve as both a Yingtianshi and a Zhidushi."
The Yingtianshi was in charge of military farming, the Zhidushi was in charge of military supplies. The combination of the three meant the integration of military and finance, which gave the Jiedushi more confidence in commanding his own troops.
This is indeed a very tempting chip.
But Zhou Jingzhi smiled.
Huo Gan's face darkened: "What are you laughing at?"
Zhou Jingzhi laughed and said, "I laugh at General Jie for being able to clearly see the relationship between the emperor and his generals, but not the historical manipulation of power within the court." He turned serious and said, "I'm only referring to one person—the former Grand General of the Jinwu Guard, Xue Hong."
In an instant, Huo Gan felt his whole body tense up.
Zhou Jing knew: "You saw what happened to Xue Hong. Putting aside the so-called relationship between the ruler and the general, it is actually the relationship between superiors and subordinates. All those whose power threatens the superiors will always be checked and liquidated."
"You said that by complying with the Empress Dowager, you were setting yourself up for future trouble. Then, by complying with the other side, you were simply finding a way out? Furthermore, you also know the significance of the three envoys uniting to an army. Could that side simply give it to you? After he succeeds, will he issue his orders from a different location in the capital?"
"More!" Seeing the person sitting opposite him about to open his mouth to argue, Zhou Jingzhi quickly said, "This humble servant has never said that. Today, this humble servant came to you to discuss the matter of the Zhidushi. This humble servant wants to talk about the affairs of Pingzhou and Yingzhou."
——
In the Lizheng Hall, Shangguan Xu was half lying on the beauty bed with her eyes closed, resting. Accompanied by the faint fragrance of orchid, she heard footsteps coming from the outer hall.
As we got closer, the sound of fabric rubbing against each other became more and more obvious.
A smile played on her lips.
The footsteps faded away, and the next moment, she felt the position on the couch sink, and a thick warmth covered her waist.
He placed one hand on her waist and the other on her side, leaning over to her cheek: "Why are you sleeping here again? Is it comfortable to lie half-lying like this?"
"It feels so good." She sighed and opened her eyes. "Is everything done?"
He nodded slightly. "Of course. As you expected, Su Xubai found him in advance and even guided him to think about the fear between the emperor and his subjects and the idea that the dog would be abandoned after the rabbit is dead."
Her eyes were calm and soft, with a slight smile at the corners of her eyes: "Why are you only talking about me? Isn't this just as you expected?"
His brows twitched. "I was just about to ask this question. How do you know him so well? You can guess what he's thinking."
Shangguan Xu's eyes darted, instantly understanding what he meant. However, she calmly propped her cheek up with the back of her hand, then, under his gaze, looked at him calmly, "What do you think? During those years when you were away, wasn't he always around me? You'll eventually understand more as time goes by."
Zhou Jingzhi lowered his head, facing her smile and staring at her threateningly: "You know exactly what I want to hear, and you still deliberately answer me like this?"
"What do you want to hear?" She pretended not to know and continued, "You can't become stingy after not seeing you for a few years, right?"
Zhou Jingzhi hesitated, thinking for a moment about what he was going to say. However, while thinking about it, he saw her casting playful glances at him, so he simply raised his eyebrows and said, "Yes, I am stingy, or maybe I am not generous to begin with."
He moved closer to her, their warm breaths interacting with each other, their lips just inches apart. He lowered his voice and occasionally touched hers as he spoke, "When you gave me that rabbit lantern, I remembered that you called him Seventh Brother back then."
"Tell me, how should you compensate me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com