first minister

The next day, early in the morning.

Xia Jingyun, who had slept well all night again, stood up with excitement, feeling that his energy was gradually returning. The weakness and fatigue at the end of the fight were almost gone, and he only had the urge to shoot the gun and leap into the horse.

After washing himself and putting on regular clothes, he greeted his parents, had a warm breakfast with his wife and concubines, and then went out in a carriage with Chen Fugui to go to Honglu Temple.

At the entrance of Honglu Temple, he also saw the freshly dressed Yelu Caiqi.

A neat and free dress, the color is blue that is rare in the summer, dotted with dense and unique grassland patterns, some sequins on the hair accessories are glowing in the morning sun, but they are lost to the bright pair of Brilliant eyes.

She stood there lively, like a fresh and wild wind on the grassland, blowing through this solemn and solemn city of Zhongjing.

"Let's go!"

Xia Jingyun composed himself and invited Yelu Caiqi into the carriage.

One of her personal maids followed, and the remaining guards and maids of the Yelu family stayed in Honglu Temple.

In Zhongjing City, they did not worry about Yelu Caiqi's safety, whether it was personal safety or physical safety.

"The Queen Mother has just given birth and is still recovering. She will go to the palace to see her in two days. Today we will go to the bamboo forest first."

"Okay!" Yelu Caiqi also knew part of the relationship between Xia Jingyun and the Queen Mother, and knew that visiting the Queen Mother was more certain than her eventual return to Liangdu, so he nodded immediately.

After the carriage drove for a distance, the lonely man and the widowed woman were alone and silent, and naturally the ambiguity of the opposite sex seducing each other quietly brewed.

In order to break this swaying ambiguity, Yelu Caiqi took the initiative and said: "It's so easy to talk to in the bamboo forest? Do you have such a good relationship with the Jiang family?"

Xia Jingyun shook his head gently, "It's not that my good relationship with the Jiang family made them give up their principles, but in the eyes of the Jiang family, the bamboo forest is just a place of residence, not a sacred symbol. The Jiang family's prestige depends on protecting the environment. In terms of his military exploits, his selfless conduct, and his reputation in the hearts of the people, it is just not his arrogant attitude and pomp."

Yelu Caiqi was silent when she heard the words. Xia Jingyun only used these words to immediately raise the Jiang family's already lofty status in her heart by several levels.

On this day, Xia Jingyun spent most of the day shopping with Yelu Caiqi, and then sent her back to Honglu Temple. After instructing the minister of Honglu Temple to arrange for someone to accompany her, she returned to her home.

This time, I didn't go out for two days.

He is so leisurely, but the whole Zhongjing City has gradually become a bit boiling.

First, with the fall of Wan Wenbi and Yan Songwen, the Queen Mother and Her Majesty ordered the Ministry of Punishment, Jingzhao Mansion, and Heibingtai to jointly try the case, and members of the Wan family and Yan family were all imprisoned, and their property It was also quickly confiscated.

The secret mailbox set up by Jingzhao Mansion is filled with confessions accusing the two families of their crimes almost every day.

All fools know that there is absolutely no chance of these two people turning over, and they may not even be able to save their lives.

Then, because the Wang family of Jiuhe, the Yin family of Sixiang, and the Lu family of Xifeng colluded with Xuanhu to assassinate His Majesty, it was found out that the three masterminds had all confessed. A huge and powerful battle started from the capital to their respective places. Home raids and arrests began immediately.

Because the crimes were clear and well-organized, they did not arouse any fluctuations or resistance in the hearts of the people. Only the wealthy people from all over the country who were saddened by the death of the rabbit and the fox felt sympathy.

At the same time, it is logical that due to the downfall of Wan and Yan, their remaining parties were also liquidated one after another.

Although under the strict control of Mr. Su and Mr. Zhao, large-scale purges were not carried out simply because of their close relationship, but were carefully screened by the officials. However, after all, these were two central ministers who joined their sect. How could there be fewer party members seeking his protection and helping them with their affairs? As the charges were tried one after another, there were still large-scale officials being arrested.

Although these things affect the hearts of many people and provide a lot of talk in the streets and alleys, they are ultimately the affairs of people who are destined to die. Those who are truly knowledgeable are still more concerned about the future and what will be lost with their downfall. out of position.

The most important thing among them is the vacant position of prime minister.

"Who do you think will become the prime minister?"

In a private room on the second floor of Mingyu Building, several close friends from the imperial court gathered around the table and chatted quietly.

"Needless to say, Marquis Jianning! The original Prime Minister fell into his hands. Isn't this new Prime Minister's position just a matter of his own hands?"

"No! In terms of actual power, no one can match Jianninghou. As long as the Queen Mother and Her Majesty still support him, even if he is still just the Minister of Household Affairs, he will be the most powerful person in the court. However, the most powerful person is not It means that he can be the prime minister. The title of prime minister has great significance. It is the head of hundreds of officials. He can take it by force, but it is not so easy to convince the public."

"Yes, if Marquis Jianning succeeds in becoming the prime minister, he will have both the name and the title, and he will have secured the position of a powerful minister! It is even better than An Guogong and Qin Ni back then."

"I don't agree with this statement. Why can't Marquis Jianning be the prime minister? In terms of official background, no one has a better background than him. In terms of achievements, whether it was the first achievement of supporting the dragon or later. Deciding strategies to counter the rebellion, negotiating peace between the north and the south, and pacifying Yuyan are all rare and great achievements; not to mention His Majesty's support, apart from age and seniority, there is nothing worse than the central committee members."

"The key is age and seniority! Then you say if he becomes prime minister, what will happen to Yang Xiang? What will happen to Mr. Wei? In officialdom, after all, there must be a hierarchy of seniority, otherwise how can you convince the public! If you have talent, you can get it , isn’t this officialdom in chaos? If he breaks the rules, how many people will be uneasy? "

Everyone was silent and speechless.

At this moment, a person suddenly slammed the table excitedly, "I understand!"

Everyone looked sideways, and the man stretched out his finger and shook it, "Are you surprised? It has been five or six days since His Majesty was assassinated, and it has been three or four days since Marquis Jianning fainted and woke up. But except for someone who saw him entering After a trip to the palace, I went to Qingbei Tower and Heibingtai, but for the rest of the time, I didn’t go to the central director. Instead, I went shopping with Princess Beiliang first, and then stayed at home and didn’t go out? "

"Yeah, we weren't talking about this just now!"

The man laughed and said with a smile on his face, "Didn't we say that what Marquis Jianning lacks the most is his age and qualifications? But why is he staying in the palace now and not taking the initiative to fight for the position of prime minister?"

Seeing that his appetite was almost gone, he touched the table with his fingertips and said leisurely: "Don't you guys hear about the advice to come in?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they suddenly realized, yes!

Marquis Jianning's uncharacteristic silence is probably because he knows that he is not qualified enough, and wants them to go to court officials to build momentum. When the time comes, he will be the prime minister "reluctantly" because of his insufficient qualifications and reputation. No one can say anything, and it will not break the rules of the court. After all, not everyone can create such a momentum.

I bother! Isn’t Marquis Jianning known as a man of great magnanimity and magnanimity? Why did he resort to such hypocritical and dirty tactics!

After thinking about this, everyone looked at each other.

The question before them now is, should they do this?

The answer is of course yes!

Criticism is what it takes, but in official circles, who cares about feelings?

If it involves your own interests, why should you hesitate?

As a result, the drinking party that was supposed to last for a long time ended in a hurry, and everyone went back to their homes and began to think about their own notes.

In this huge Zhongjing city, they were not the only ones who were smart, there were also other people, and they felt that they had figured out Xia Jingyun's intentions very early on.

However, their choices were completely different from those of these court officials.

"Xia Gaoyang acted like this, which shows that he is also guilty!"

In a house, several nobles gathered together and discussed quietly.

Nowadays, they would not be stupid enough to confront Xia Jingyun head-on, but if they were to become docile sheep or even Xia Jingyun's dogs, that would still not be possible.

They have the glory and pride of their fathers.

At the same time, if there is a chance to make things more difficult for him by secretly stumbling a little, they are still willing to give it a try.

"Yes, he has such a position as prime minister, but he is still hiding it and dare not take it directly. I think he is like that."

"You can't say that. What he did shows that he still cares about the most basic official rules. We can rest assured that such a person will not be so domineering that he will punish us all if he doesn't like it. ."

"He dares! The title we are waiting for is hereditary and has been given by Grandpa Taizu himself, and we have been awarded lords such as Shizong, Xiaozong, and Wuzong. He, a minister, has rebelled against heaven!"

"Hey! It's not like I haven't done it before. What's more, if you don't do it, the Queen Mother can't help? Your Majesty can't help? How long did the fire in the East Palace last?"

Everyone was silent after hearing this. Originally, the power of the noble clan members was very powerful, but the decisive fire from the East Palace directly burned their seemingly strong backbones to ashes, even if they were twisted into a rope. It doesn’t help anymore, not to mention that people’s hearts are not unified now.

After a long while, someone finally asked: "What should we do? Just watch?"

Everyone looked at each other and bowed their heads silently, no one could come up with an idea.

"Let me tell you! Let's support Prime Minister Yang!"

One of the princes couldn't help but said: "Anyway, Xia Gaoyang doesn't like us, so we can justifiably elect Yang Prime Minister. Isn't this illegal?"

"I think it works! In terms of qualifications, age, and status, it is only natural that Yang Xiang, as the deputy prime minister, should take over as the prime minister!"

"Not only that, we can also contact those local big families and clan members. After all, if Xia Gaoyang really gets what he deserves, everyone's life will be even more difficult. I think they will agree!"

"Okay, then act accordingly!"

"roll roll roll!"

About an hour later, King Cheng stood at the door of the palace and drove out the nobles who came to lobby without mercy.

This time, he made a "wise" decision without even having to ask Princess Cheng. He pouted at the backs of the two people, "You still want me to be your shield? Go ahead and live your mother's dream!"

Witnessing Wan Wenbi and Yan Songwen being captured by Xia Jingyun without any chance of fighting back, he turned around bitterly, his face still full of dissatisfaction, "These are mindless bullshit, I still want to live for a few more years." !”

After walking a few steps inside, he suddenly turned to look at the palace steward beside him, "Where is the Crown Prince?"

"Reply to the prince, the prince. The prince has gone out for an outing."

"Outing?" King Cheng snorted, "I think you went to the outing building, right?"

The steward bowed and did not dare to speak.

King Cheng was silent for a moment and sighed, "Go ahead, let him go! It's okay to visit a brothel. I want to go but I can't!"

King Cheng sighed, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked resolutely into the depths of the mansion with an attitude of not listening to what was going on outside the window.

The next day, noon.

In Miyagi, the Queen Mother, who was gradually recovering, began to take charge of the affairs. In the warm palace, she took Dongfang Bai and read the memorial together.

Today's memorial seems to have been agreed upon, and it is basically about recommending a new prime minister.

Dongfang Bai read the whole book, and put the one recommending Xia Jingyun on the left, the one recommending Yang Weiguang on the right, and the one recommending other things or recommending other people in the middle.

After all the memorials were divided, Concubine De looked at the two piles of memorials with little difference in height and couldn't help but snort.

Since Xia Jingyun taught him a lesson, Dongfang Bai's mentality has cheered up a lot. At least before he leaves the palace and goes on tour, he must shoulder the responsibility of the emperor. When he saw this, he frowned and asked: "Mother, how should we decide this matter?"

Concubine De did not give her answer directly, but asked: "What do you think?"

Dongfang Bai thought about it carefully when he heard the words, "According to my son's wishes, I naturally hope that my uncle will be the prime minister so that he can help us work hard to govern. But as my mother taught me, there are rules for everything, and even the emperor cannot Do whatever you want. Now, in terms of qualifications, reputation and official position, it seems that Yang Weiguang should take over from the position of deputy prime minister to prime minister as a matter of course. Forcing my uncle to become prime minister may be counterproductive."

Concubine De nodded slightly, "Then how can this matter be resolved?"

"Either Prime Minister Yang retreats on his own initiative, but I'm afraid it will be difficult, as he has not expressed his position until now; or he can make Prime Minister Yang the prime minister, my uncle as the deputy prime minister, and my uncle takes power, but this may repeat the mistakes of Wan Wenbi; or simply Use the imperial power to exert pressure and let us bear the reputation ourselves."

De Fei smiled and said, "Forcible pressure is useless. Just wait and see, since your uncle dared to take the opportunity to capture Wan Wenbi and Yan Songwen that day, he must have been prepared. This little thing will not trouble him. .”
-

"Are you ready, kid?"

In the Marquis of Jianning's Mansion, Patriarch Qin, who was invited to come, looked at Xia Jingyun with worry.

Xia Jingyun smiled confidently and poured a cup of tea for Patriarch Qin himself, "Of course I'm prepared. You don't have to worry too much."

"There's already a commotion outside. If you have any tricks, use them first!"

Xia Jingyun shook his head slightly, "Don't worry, just wait. If you don't argue about this matter, forget it. If you want to argue, I will argue until everyone is speechless!"

Seeing that Xia Jingyun really knew what he was thinking, Patriarch Qin didn't say anything more and changed the subject: "Why did you come to me today?"

Xia Jingyun put away his smile and said seriously: "Is the Qin family willing to participate in the trade route matter mentioned earlier?"

The old head of the Qin family hummed, "This is something you have to handle, so I, the Qin family, must be willing."

It's different when the old fox talks. You know he is complimenting you, but it feels really comfortable to listen to him.

Xia Jingyun nodded slightly, "The current preliminary planning is for three trade routes, one in the Northeast and the peninsula area east of Swift State, one in the Western Region, and the other in Nanyang."

He spread out a map and stretched out his hand to draw on it, "Right now, the safest trade route is the Western Region. There are usually caravans coming and going, and there are mature trade routes. To monopolize this trade route in the future, we only need the north and south. It will be enough if both Korea and the DPRK jointly send troops to support the escort. Although the trade route is not clear in Yuyan Prefecture, the advantage is that if nothing happens, this land will be firmly in our hands, and safety is the most guaranteed. As for the south, We need to send people to investigate first, and then make sufficient preparations before exploring."

He looked at the old Patriarch of Qin and said, "Ah Li must have relayed what I said to King Dingxi of Northern Liang to you. I invite you here today because I want to discuss with you how to plan this matter."

"In my opinion, the imperial courts of the Northern and Southern Dynasties and a very small number of important families should jointly establish an independent organization to operate this matter independently. You are an expert, what do you think?"

Patriarch Qin nodded slowly, "I agree with your view. If the court is left to handle it, regardless of the priority between the north and the south, just those bureaucrats who have nothing to do but can turn a good thing into a bad thing, let alone something like this. The huge profits shouldn’t overwhelm those officials?”

Xia Jingyun hummed, "So, I temporarily plan to set up a firm to manage all these. Our Southern Dynasty court will hold 35% of the shares, and Beiliang will hold 30% of the shares. We will give each of the two dynasties a 10% share, so that the dignitaries and aristocratic families of the two dynasties can Then I will take 10%, and the remaining half will be shared by the shopkeeper and employees who manage the matter. Then the company will set up a three-party branch to be responsible for the corresponding matters. As for the guards protecting the company, Then you can select from the military, and those soldiers who have been laid off or have no hope of promotion can be hired as trade guards, which can also reduce chaos."

The old Patriarch Qin looked up at Xia Jingyun. He was proficient in the art of business and instantly understood the mystery, but he did not expose it and said in a deep voice:

"In general, there is no problem, but how is the initial investment determined and where does it come from? Is it completely supervised as a business, or is it supervised by censors regularly sent by the northern and southern courts? How should future profits be distributed?"

He slowly asked a few questions, and Xia Jingyun wrote them down on paper and began to discuss them with him one by one according to his initial ideas.

The conversation ended with the topic of the sun turning west, and Qin Li couldn't help but take the opportunity of serving tea and water to remind Xia Jingyun to pay attention to his health.

Xia Jingyun naturally understood what Qin Li really meant as soon as he heard it, and quickly apologized to Qin's old family master.

However, the old head of the Qin family reprimanded Qin Li for his lack of knowledge and disregard of the priorities of matters; Xia Jingyun also comforted him with gentle words, and the three of them acted in such a knowing manner that they all gained ground.

Patriarch Qin slowly picked up the ginger tea, "Speaking of which, are you really not worried about things outside?"

Xia Jingyun smiled and said, "Don't be in a hurry, let them jump, it will help them distinguish between ourselves and the enemy! Haha!"

Just as he was talking, someone knocked on the door gently, and Chen Fugui's voice sounded outside, "Sir, there is an urgent report from Yuyan Prefecture."

Xia Jingyun raised his eyebrows and said, "Bring it in!"

Soon, Chen Fugui handed a booklet into Xia Jingyun's hands.

There were densely written words on the thick fold.

Xia Jingyun looked at it carefully, and looked at the Qin family master with a slightly curious look and pretended not to care, and took the initiative to explain: "This is the result of the implementation of the New Deal calculated by Su Yuanshang in Yuyan Prefecture. Just the acres of land were counted. Underreporting and concealing 240,000 acres.”

Patriarch Qin suddenly looked happy, "This is a great achievement! In this way, you can silence those who criticize the New Deal. Moreover, you personally supervised the implementation of Yuyan Prefecture. This is also your irrefutable achievement." !”

He smiled and said, "So you were waiting for this?"

Xia Jingyun shook his head in surprise, "No."

Patriarch Qin looked puzzled. At this moment, a clear voice came from the door, "Brother Chen, is your husband here?"

As soon as Xia Jingyun heard this, he took the initiative and said: "Rouge, come in!"

Yanzhi stepped in, saluted the two of them, and then handed a booklet to Xia Jingyun.

"Husband, I have basically verified it. After carefully sorting it out, there are indeed some suspicious things."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Xia Jingyun smiled, then opened the book and read it, raised his eyebrows, and sneered at the corner of his mouth, and then looked at the old Patriarch Qin. Before he could speak, the other party waved his hand, "Things about Heibingtai are all secret. No need to say more.”

Xia Jingyun smiled and said, "You will know in a few days."

Patriarch Qin hummed, "Then it's time for you to take action?"

Xia Jingyun shook his head, "We have to wait a little longer."

Still waiting?

The old head of the Qin family was also willing to go all out. He really wanted to see what he was waiting for, so he simply stayed at the Jianning Marquis Mansion for dinner in the evening.

The two families were relatives, so it didn't matter at all. Over the wine and food, the two slowly chatted about some details that they hadn't thought of before.

Until dusk began to fall, the old family master Qin was too old to stay for a long time, so he had to leave with regret.

Xia Jingyun saw him off personally. As soon as he reached the door, he saw Mr. Zhao, the owner of the village, hurriedly getting out of the carriage.

"Gao Yang!"

Mr. Zhao, the owner of the village, stepped forward quickly and whispered: "Great victory! The expeditionary army has broken through the capital of Xinluo and occupied the entire territory of Xinluo!"

Xia Jingyun's eyes suddenly lit up, he was finally here! (End of chapter)