first minister

Chapter 196 Shi Shangshu wrote a letter, and Emperor Chongning issued a decree

Shijia.

The originally crowded mansion has become much deserted today, but the people of the Shi family don't care about these things at all, and the whole house is filled with a sense of panic and doomsday.

The servant held his breath and concentrated his hands lightly, for fear that if the master caught a mistake, he would use it as a tool to vent his anger and kill him directly.

Everyone in the master's family was even more panicked. Mrs. Shi was running around in a hurry in the mansion, and the concubines and ladies beside her were fidgeting together, as if they had already seen the tragic situation of being filled into the Jiaofang Secretary.

In the study room, Shi Dingzhong and Shi Zijun, the real helmsmen of the Shi family, sat opposite each other, while the family's aides accompanied them, discussing countermeasures.

"Proprietor, in my subordinate's opinion, since His Majesty did not make a verdict in court, allowing you to submit a letter to defend yourself tomorrow means that you have the intention of handling it lightly, so you don't need to worry too much."

Shi Dingzhong shook his head, "That being said, who dares to bet?"

He sighed and stood up, "The Chongning Dynasty has been here for 23 years, and I have been there for 23 years. There is no one who is too big to fail. His Majesty asked him how to deal with the so-called internal and external matters. Then, if he hadn't been wise and took the initiative to retreat, he might have died well. How about the former Prime Minister Su? Even if they cooperated like this, under His Majesty's secret instructions and Qin Xiang's all-out pursuit, they had to seek peace with death in exchange for the Su family's Gou'an, which would not end well. How many ministers who were once extremely prominent, asked to beheaded, exiled, and now Zhongjing has long since heard their names."

He turned his head to look at his staff, "I'm just afraid that if I take this wrong step, I will follow in their footsteps."

Shi Zijun couldn't help but slapped the table angrily, "You said that damn censor, how did he know those things!"

The staff member shook his head lightly. It was pointless to worry about that right now. He pursed his lips and pondered, and tentatively said, "Why don't you go and find the British Duke?"

Shi Dingzhong stood by the window and looked out of the window for a long time, "Tell me, is it possible that the Duke of England facilitated this move? He didn't say a word in today's class!"

Shi Zijun's complexion changed, but the staff shook his head, "It's unreasonable. The proprietor has promised him that he will give him an answer in a few days, and he has no reason why he can't wait for this time. Besides, the position of the proprietor has been knocked out. How useful is the proprietor to him!"

Although these words sound very unpleasant, but the truth is true. Shi Dingzhong would not be dissatisfied because of this point, and nodded, "This statement is reasonable, but I am suspicious. If it is not the British Duke, Prime Minister Qin and I have no enmity, and Concubine De is standing still today. Could it be that little censor's personal action?"

Shi Zijun snorted, "Father, Mr. Zhang, I think it's Xia Jingyun. This person has a deep enmity with my Shi family and has deep thoughts. He must be behind the scenes!"

Shi Dingzhong and his staff silently ignored such stupid words. Xia Jingyun was just a boy in his twenties who hadn't even had a spring.

I didn't even say if I could do it, I didn't even dare to think about it!

You said that Wei Yuanzhi set up the game, which is more or less the same.

"Proprietor, so, what I mean is, you can see that the British public is one of the few founding lords who have maintained their position. Now that the momentum is high, and you have said that you have surrendered to him, why don't you ask him for advice?"

"Hey, the first thing is that the Duke of England hasn't said a word today. If I rush to ask for it, my position under his command will be weaker in the future. So I want to see if I can find a way. The second thing is, I'm worried that His Majesty will let me go for a while, maybe because he wants to see who I'm hooked up with, who I'm conspiring with, and rashly contacting him will kill me instead."

Shi Dingzhong's words made the staff couldn't help but secretly sigh with emotion. It seems that this important official of the dynasty is actually trembling like walking on thin ice!

Just when the three people in the room were at a loss, there was a knock on the door.

The housekeeper stood cautiously at the door, saw Shi Dingzhong's frighteningly dark face, and said tremblingly, "Master, there is a food delivery man who wants to see you about matters related to the lives of our whole family. I dare not neglect you."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and two guards, one on the left and one on the right, clamped a man in coarse cloth and walked over.

Although the man was wearing coarse clothes and was controlled by others, he didn't care about it, showing an arrogance on the contrary.

And when the light poured on his face, allowing Shi Dingzhong to see his face clearly, Shi Dingzhong's expression changed immediately, "Let go! It's none of your business here, go down!"

The housekeeper and the nurse still hesitated, but Shi Dingzhong glared at him immediately, and the three of them slipped away immediately.

Let this person into the room, Shi Dingzhong thought for a while, and let his son stand outside, guarding the door himself, not allowing anyone to approach, then let the person sit down at the table, and then pour tea himself, "Mr. Xu, but what does the British public know?"

The person who came came smiled, "In the court today, the father-in-law didn't say anything to help, Master Shi won't be complaining, right?"

Shi Dingzhong hurriedly said: "Mr. Xu, what are you talking about? At that time, the details were not clear, and he left the scene rashly. I was afraid that he would fall into the enemy's tricks. It is best to stay still."

"That's good. Is Lord Shi worried now?"

When Shi Dingzhong heard this, he immediately became sensible, stood up, and bowed deeply to the other party regardless of his status, "Please teach me, sir!"

But the other party didn't push him in front of him, an important official of the court. He quickly got up and let Shi Dingzhong go, and then helped Shi Dingzhong up, "Master Shi, you and your father-in-law are now in the same breath, why should the family talk about two different languages, what is there to teach, don't you think so?"

"Yes yes yes! I was confused."

The person who came smiled, motioned everyone to sit down again, and said slowly: "My lord has inquired about today's matter after going back, and it is indeed only the little censor who did it alone. Therefore, the key to this matter lies in your majesty's attitude."

Shi Dingzhong sighed, "But the key is that His Majesty's attitude is hard to figure out!"

"Master Shi thinks it's hard to figure it out, but isn't there still a father-in-law here?"

The visitor smiled slightly, "Your Majesty has said that, Your Majesty understands the way of being a king, and knows where a true king should set his sights."

He ordered the table, "What's wrong with being a courtier, living a more indulgent life? Climbing to such a high position, you can't enjoy it? Then who bothers to work hard for the country? What's the matter with the poor people? There are only a few officials with billions of people. These grass mustards are used to support officials. As long as they don't go too far and don't arouse public resentment, doesn't your majesty know how to sympathize with the courtiers? In that case, who is willing to do their best for His Majesty and the court? These words cannot be said to the outside world, but Shi Shangshu naturally understands."

Shi Dingzhong nodded quickly, but did not speak, but continued to look at the other party expectantly.

"But your majesty is not a mud bodhisattva. There are those who turn a blind eye and close one eye. Of course, there are those who are absolutely impossible to tolerate. You can't form a party to fight against the imperial power; you can't be corrupt and let your majesty lose your family's wealth; you can't completely fail to understand the meaning of the above, fail to implement the ideas of the above, and become a waste that is not enough to accomplish anything. You can't even touch his reverse scales."

After an analysis, the visitor smiled, "Master Shi, now you know how to write a letter to defend yourself?"

Although Shi Dingzhong was still a bit apprehensive, after such an explanation, he was really relieved, stood up and cupped his hands, "Thank you, Duke Ying, and Mr. Xu."
-
In the early morning of the next day, a self-defense memorial written by Shi Dingzhong, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, was sent to the palace and placed on Emperor Chongning's desk.

Emperor Chongning picked it up, read it silently, and pondered for a long time, "Come here, draw up an order!"

At noon, Gongsun Jing hurried back to Jiang Anhou's mansion.

In the study, he found Xia Jingyun and Su Yuanshang, "The decree has come down."

Xia Jingyun and Su Yuanshang raised their heads together.

"Shi Dingzhong, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, has a lack of personal morality and is not strict under the imperial court. He was fined for three years, removed from the post of Wenhuage University scholar, and deprived of his wife's second-rank order; his son Shi Zijun improperly kept domestic slaves and was fined [-];

Xia Jingyun was slightly shocked, "It's gone?"

Gongsun Jing shook his head, "In addition, Zhou Yinglong, the censor of Yushitai, was upright and resolute. He spoke out and advised him. He was promoted to serve as Yushi in the palace and gave him a silver fish bag."

"This is a gag." Su Yuanshang sighed.

Gongsun Jing also sighed, "But what should we do next? Shi Dingzhong committed such a mistake, and His Majesty handles him so lightly, and simply spared him, how can we touch him!"

Between the words, the prospect of this incident is already very pessimistic.

Xia Jingyun smiled lightly, "Can't move him? How is it possible!"

Gongsun Jing spread his hands, "The most powerful evidence in our hands has been thrown out, and this rare censor who has nothing to do with us but can be used by us has also been used. In addition, after this incident, Shi Dingzhong eliminated hidden dangers and his position became more stable. How can we do it?"

At this moment, a flash of lightning struck Xia Jingyun's mind, and he suddenly understood why the old master Zhao didn't bring up such things as the Shi family's private storage in the outer room and the kidnapping of civilian girls.

Perhaps, this wise old man has already figured out His Majesty's heart, and knowing such things will not move His Majesty's heart.

He looked at Gongsun Jing, "He has passed this test, it has nothing to do with the size of the crime, it's just because these crimes can't touch our Majesty's heart, but if it can touch his heart, even a small matter can kill him. At that time, the current kindness will only become a bigger crime for him!"

He snorted softly, "Don't worry, the real battle has just begun!"

(End of this chapter)