first minister

The night was like running water, silently submerging the entire Zhongjing City.

This was an ordinary night, but it became extremely unusual because of the recommendation to the court tomorrow.

The choice of the prime minister, the two important ministers who were promoted to the center, and the other positions that were affected by these changes all made these officials who had devoted their lives to the officialdom of Great Xia full of daydreams and desires.

Countless secret meetings, countless discussions, overt sides, and secret deals, all came and went one after another on this night like the breathing of Liuyun Tianxiang Pavilion.

But the strange thing is that the Jianninghou Mansion, which is in the center of the storm, has early put up a sign saying "closed doors and thanking guests", enclosing the territory for peace, leaving some officials who wanted to show their loyalty confused.

"Well, since this kid can think of those things, I think we don't need to worry about him at all."

Near the gate of Marquis Jianning's Mansion, in an unmarked carriage, Mr. Zhao looked at the other two people and spoke with a smile.

Old Xianggong Su put down the side curtain that he raised slightly, withdrew his gaze and said humbly, "To him, this prime minister is just two years early and two years late. There is no need to worry too much."

After saying that, he turned to look at the old Patriarch Qin, "But regarding the North and South Business Company, your family has been doing business for generations and is good at it. You still need to pay more attention. Your son is not good enough. If not, let Ali put in more effort. Don’t miss the big deal.”

Patriarch Qin rolled his eyes and said, "It sounds like your son is so awesome."

Seeing that the old enemies were about to quarrel again, Mr. Zhao quickly stopped the fight and said: "Okay, okay, let's consult together. Brother Qin will make more preparations first. When the time comes to discuss it in court, the two of us will also help." Put in more effort.”

Mr. Su took a deep breath, stopped arguing, and said slowly: "Let's go back. There will be a court meeting tomorrow."

The carriage slowly left, and as the night deepened, Zhongjing City gradually became quiet.

It was not until the end of Yinshi on the next day that Xia Jingyun, the Marquis of Jianning in Daxia, who had slept all night, slowly opened his eyes on the soft bed and softly surrounded by the two ladies.

Su Yanyan and Qin Li also got up quickly to help him wash and dress.

When everything was tidied up, Xia Jingyun gently tapped the two ladies' lips and said, "Let's go!"

Su Yanyan and Qin Li took him to the door of the mansion, where Feng Xiuyun and Yanzhi were already waiting.

Xia Jingyun first looked at Feng Xiuyun and said, "Have all the people who went to inform the various governments gone?"

Feng Xiuyun hummed, "We set out half an hour ago, I was afraid of missing something."

Xia Jingyun nodded, and Yanzhi handed him a box in his hand.

Xia Jingyun reached out to take it and chuckled at the girls, "Go back, everyone. This morning meeting time is too inhumane. Go back quickly and get some sleep."

Looking at his back as he boarded the carriage and slowly left, Qin Li said softly: "You can still joke at this time, so you probably have nothing to worry about."

Su Yanyan smiled and said, "You should have known this last night."

Qin Li blushed and pinched Su Yanyan slightly, causing the girls to laugh and make a fuss.

Xia Jingyun's carriage drove out slowly and arrived in front of the palace.

In the square in front of the palace, there were already many officials standing in twos and threes. Of course, they were all lower-ranking officials. Seeing that such a big shot came unexpectedly early, they all hurriedly came forward to greet them regardless of their secret plans. .

Xia Jingyun smiled and cupped his hands in a circle. He just smiled and nodded, and walked to the front of the team. Then he did not stop, but walked straight towards the palace amidst everyone's surprise. Go towards the door.

After a few words of conversation with the officers and soldiers guarding the city, the door was opened directly, and Xia Jingyun stepped in.

Everyone looked at the figure behind the door, dumbfounded.

"What is this? To establish prestige? To show the relationship between Marquis Jianning and Your Majesty the Queen Mother?"

"Does this relationship still need to be shown? I think there is something that needs to be discussed with the Queen Mother or Your Majesty in advance, right?"

But in such an occasion, after all, there are only a few people who are stupid enough to speak up, and everyone just looks complicated and hides all kinds of thoughts in their hearts.

Time gradually passed, and Li Tianfeng, Wei Yuanzhi, Yang Weiguang, Lu Guogong, Cheng Wang and others all arrived one after another.

But what surprised everyone again was that after greeting everyone, these people, like Marquis Jianning, walked into the palace.

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing why.

"Could it be that Marquis Jianning wants to hold a small court meeting and then ask the Queen Mother and Your Majesty to help him suppress objections?"

Everyone was silent, but they all felt somewhat agreed with this guess.

If this is the case, Marquis Jianning's behavior is really a bit of a loss of status!

Bai Yunbian also arrived at the square in front of the palace gate, pieced together the previous situation from everyone's ears, and squinted slightly as he pondered.

But when he turned around and saw that Mr. Su and Mr. Zhao didn't enter the palace either, he secretly felt relieved.

It was probably that bitch who was trying to pull some dirty tricks again. If he was really taking advantage of the situation to pressure others, how could he not invite these old guys who were born to be protagonists and feel weak when they see him, to suppress the situation.

Several of the top court officials who were sitting in a side hall in the palace city had very different thoughts than Baiyunbian. When they saw that Duke An, Duke Wei, Duke Lu and others did not come, even His Majesty and the Queen Mother After they were gone, they understood that Xia Jingyun was not trying to take advantage of the situation to pressure others.

But these people are not here, why do you, Xia Jingyun, give orders? Do you really think you are the prime minister?

Wei Yuanzhi had a good idea of ​​what these people were thinking, so he took the initiative and said, "Gao Yang, why did you invite us here in advance today?"

Xia Jingyun and Yang Weiguang sat on the main seats, one on the left and the other on the right. They glanced at everyone. On the left were King Cheng and Duke Lu, and on the right were the three important officials of the central committee. He said slowly: "At this moment, there are still many central officials in the palace. The five of you are here, including Li Shizhong, Wei Shangshu, Zhang Zhongshu, Yang Xianggong, plus me. At the same time, Cheng Wang is the representative of the clan, and Lu Guogong is the noble leader. I think he can make decisions on all major issues in the court and present them to the Queen Mother. , Your Majesty, right?"

Duke Lu Guo had been slapped in the face several times by Xia Jingyun and his family. Now he was extremely unpopular with him and had already given up on getting closer to him. Hearing this, he said somewhat rudely: "Jianning Marquis, just say it if you have anything to say." Yes, all the officials in the court are about to enter the palace, so why hide them?"

Xia Jingyun smiled slightly and said, "The election of prime minister will be held later. Do you have any suggestions?"

Hearing this, everyone including Wei Yuanzhi and Li Tianfeng couldn't help but frown.

what is this? Do you really plan to hold a small meeting to use your power to decide on the candidate?

King Cheng looked at Xia Jingyun with some doubts, thinking that this person's behavior at this moment was not in line with his usual knowledge!

Duke Lu was not used to it. Since you stretched out your face to slap me, I will slap you as you asked. You can't do anything to me, so he said directly: "The position of prime minister requires both moral integrity and talent, and more importantly His qualifications convince everyone, and Prime Minister Yang was originally the deputy prime minister. Now that he has gone against the law, it is natural for Prime Minister Yang to succeed him as prime minister. I support Prime Minister Yang."

Zhang Caiming, the assistant minister of Zhongshu who has always been wise in protecting himself and has the weakest presence in the center, looked at Xia Jingyun. In his current situation, it was unlikely that he would get anything by joining him. It was already too late compared to Wei Yuanzhi and Li Tianfeng. He had to make progress. It's impossible to get his turn.

However, Wan Wenbi and Yan Songwen still learned from their mistakes, and it was impossible for him to confront Xia Jingyun head-on.

Therefore, he remained silent.

But silence often represents a gesture.

They also understand the so-called loyalty that is not absolute, which means absolute disloyalty, so this neutrality is actually a statement.

In comparison, the postures of Wei Yuanzhi and Li Tianfeng are much clearer.

"Nowadays, the imperial court is in ruins and needs to be revitalized, and the harsh and bad governance needs to be eliminated. It is only right to use talents in order to revive the country. Since he became an official, the Marquis of Jianning has repeatedly made meritorious deeds and is the best in the court. He has also implemented new policies in Yuyan Prefecture with remarkable results. Marquis Jian Ning should be recommended as prime minister."

"Yes, now the court should give priority to the New Deal. Whoever is able to implement the New Deal should be the prime minister leading the officials. From this point of view, Marquis Jianning is well-deserved!"

After hearing what Wei Yuanzhi and Li Tianfeng said, Duke Lu smiled and said, "That makes sense. The Queen Mother also has a will. In this case, let's let all the officials recommend it in the court. Marquis Jianning will call everyone here now. And why?"

He wasn't stupid, he didn't confront Xia Jingyun directly, but attacked Xia Jingyun's actions in a roundabout way.

Xia Jingyun smiled slightly and looked at Yang Weiguang who had been silent, "Mr. Yang, what do you think?"

Yang Weiguang was slightly startled, as if he didn't expect Xia Jingyun to call him by name so directly. He still smiled like a good old man, "I naturally obey the Queen Mother's will and follow the opinions of all officials without any complaints."

The implication is also obvious. If you have the ability to ask the Queen Mother to directly issue an order, or to have all the officials choose you, then I agree. But if you want to just make me give in and let you be both responsible and established, then what do you think? . But Xia Jingyun unexpectedly smiled and said something that shocked everyone in the palace.

"Otherwise, why don't you just become an official?"

"Marquis Jianning!" Duke Lu couldn't help but said in a deep voice, "This is the Great Xia court. What you are facing is the head of hundreds of officials and the head of the central government. As a minister and a low-ranking official, how can you How can you say such absurd things!"

Zhang Caiming also said: "Jianning Marquis, is this statement a bit unreasonable? Prime Minister Yang has done nothing wrong and has high qualifications. He is an important helper for Her Majesty the Queen Mother to stabilize the court situation."

King Cheng looked at Xia Jingyun suspiciously. After all, he couldn't hold it back and said, "Marquis Jianning, I also think that you should discuss it with the Queen Mother and Your Majesty again. Even if you want to do something, it should be decided by the imperial court?"

Although Yang Weiguang has always been a good man, after a moment of silence, he finally couldn't help but said: "Marquis Jianning, I have always respected you for your outstanding achievements and your upright conduct. Even if you were in trouble, I would always try to protect you. Whether it is for you, the Queen Mother, or Your Majesty, I am worthy of this official uniform. Now that you have said such words, does this court really want to become your hall? If that is the case, you will let the Queen Mother down. His decree is that I will never cling to power!"

Seeing Yang Xiang's indignant look, Xia Jingyun just smiled faintly, "Do you deserve this official uniform? I don't think so!"

As he spoke, Xia Jingyun opened the small box at hand, took out a booklet from the box and handed it to King Cheng on his left, "You guys, take a look for yourselves."

King Cheng took it hesitantly, glanced at it, his expression suddenly changed, his shocked eyes turned on Yang Xiang and Xia Jingyun, and he immediately said with a clear attitude: "Xiao Wang supports Marquis Jianning."

With that said, he handed the fold in his hand to Duke Lu, who was almost impatient to wait.

Duke Lu took it and snorted, "I want to see what it is."

His mumbling was interrupted momentarily, and he even glanced at Yang Xiang with a bit of horror in his eyes, then at Xia Jingyun. Finally, he reluctantly folded the fold and handed it to Li Tianfeng, who was at the end opposite him. Reluctantly but helplessly, he said: "I support Marquis Jianning's proposal."

Yang Weiguang saw the attitude of these two people and couldn't help but frown, "Marquis Jianning, if you insist on letting me fall and make way for you, just say so. There is no need to engage in such clinging!"

Xia Jingyun smiled slightly, "Don't panic, Mr. Yang, you'll find out later."

After Li Tianfeng finished reading, he was equally shocked. He stared blankly at the letter in front of him. Wei Yuanzhi couldn't help but coughed twice and urged him to come back to his senses. His eyes flashed across Yang Weiguang's face, and he was immediately shocked. He looked at Xia Jingyun curiously, as if he couldn't figure out how he got this thing, "I still support Marquis Jianning as I said before."

Wei Yuanzhi's reaction was almost the same as Li Tianfeng's. When it was Zhang Caiming's turn, he picked it up and looked at it. His pupils suddenly shook, and then he slowly put it down, "The suggestion of Marquis Jianning is polite, I have no objection."

Yang Weiguang finally couldn't help it anymore, and almost snatched the booklet from Zhang Caiming's hand.

I saw that his life was clearly written on the fold. It was not the false life that everyone knew at the moment, but the real life that was hidden under the surface and that was unknown to everyone.

Including the detailed experience of how he was born on Guanshan Road in Daliang, how his family came to live in Daxia under the arrangement of the Embroidery Bureau, and how he grew up step by step with the secret support of the Embroidery Bureau, and finally became the second assistant of Daxia.

The most important thing is that this thing is not only detailed, but also has every key node, and it also has the bright red seal of Beiliang Embroidery Bureau!

Seeing this, Yang Weiguang's hands couldn't help but tremble slightly.

He imagined that Xia Jingyun must have reached some kind of deal with Daliang in exchange for this information.

But he couldn't imagine why he still became an outcast of the imperial court now that he had reached this level.

His whole life, he was walking on thin ice, but he never made it to the other side!

He suddenly stood up and rushed towards the pillar in the temple, wanting to end all secrets with his life.

But as he was getting older, how could he succeed in front of Xia Jingyun, who was already prepared.

Xia Jingyun grabbed him, and then pushed him back to the chair together with Li Tianfeng and others.

Xia Jingyun looked at him, "Don't rush to seek death yet, listen to what I have to say."

His eyes swept over everyone's faces, and he said calmly: "The reason why I have called everyone here to talk about this is because it is a family scandal and a national scandal. Let a secret agent of an enemy country sit in the position of the deputy minister of the dynasty. Position, no matter how you say it, is not a glorious thing. As the saying goes, family scandals should not be made public, I am telling you here to give you Yang Weiguang some dignity and to maintain the dignity of the court."

He looked at Yang Weiguang and said, "You will ask yourself to serve later, and everyone will respect themselves. And everyone here, please do not spread this matter to anyone."

Everyone was convinced and nodded in agreement.

As for what happened after Yang Weiguang took office, it is self-evident.

Yang Weiguang also looked at Xia Jingyun, knowing that with that information, even if he sought an opportunity to commit suicide, he would not be able to hurt Xia Jingyun. At most, he could slap Nan Chao in the face, but if he followed Xia Jingyun's request

Xia Jingyun's voice sounded like it could penetrate his heart, "Cooperate well. Although Beiliang sold you, they might also spend a lot of money to redeem you. As long as the price is right, we may not be able to buy you back." Will agree."

Hope is the most vital thing in the world. Even though you know it may be very small, as long as there is hope, it seems to be able to break through all obstacles and ignite the fire in your heart.

Yang Weiguang nodded slowly and said hoarsely, "Thank you."
-

In the main hall of the court, almost all the court officials had arrived. Even some nobles and veterans of the clan who did not usually go to court had put on court uniforms and stood in the main hall.

But it was already time for the court meeting, and the court meeting that countless people had been looking forward to for a long time had still not started.

Because the few standing at the top of this court have not arrived yet.

They haven't arrived yet, and naturally the Queen Mother and Her Majesty haven't arrived either.

Without the main trunk, no matter how lush the branches and leaves are, they cannot support the stall. They can only wait in small groups, whispering or thinking wildly.

However, their wait did not last long. Someone shouted "Here we come". Everyone turned around and saw these high-profile men filing in.

Yang Xiang is as humble as ever, Jianning Marquis is as handsome as jade, Lu Guogong looks unhappy, and Cheng Wang smiles.

Everyone observed carefully, trying to see some clues, but found nothing.

As these people arrived, Jin Zhong's sharp voice also sounded at the right time, "The Queen Mother, Your Majesty, are here!"

In the eyes of everyone, Dongfang Bai, who was dressed in royal robes, was helped to sit on the dragon chair, and behind the bead curtain on the side, there was also a shadowy figure.

After the shouts of the ministers, Concubine De's familiar voice sounded, giving the ministers a long-lost peace of mind.

"At present, the four directions of the country have been initially decided, and many wastes are waiting to be revitalized. However, the positions are vacant, and the central government is short of personnel, which is not good for the country. I hope that all the ministers will make recommendations."

As soon as the Queen Mother's sweet and moving words fell, people immediately came out, hurriedly trying to win the favor of the Queen Mother and Her Majesty.

"Your Majesty, Queen Mother! I believe that Marquis Jianning has both political integrity and talent, as well as outstanding meritorious service, so he should be the perfect candidate for prime minister!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately retorted, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, the ministers recommended Yang Xiang to take over as prime minister. Xiang Yang was already the deputy prime minister of the DPRK, and now that the position is vacant, it is natural for him to take over, not to mention that Xiang Yang himself Since he became an official, his political achievements, official reputation, and reputation have all been indispensable, and he is enough to be the head of a hundred officials to serve the government and the public."

Before, Duke Lu would have been tempted to jump out and agree, but after what happened just now, he could only sit helplessly and watch the outcome he didn't want to see happen, while constantly reminding himself with his eyes. "Associates", don't speak.

But his accomplices did not expect that such a change could happen. Looking at this look, they immediately thought that they were urging themselves to build momentum quickly, so they hurriedly came out to support Yang Weiguang firmly and clearly.

Duke Lu Guo held his forehead silently, bowed his head and was speechless.

In the court hall, everyone expressed their opinions and became noisy for a while.

Mr. Su glanced at Xia Jingyun, who was standing calmly at the front of the queue of civil servants, as if the matter had nothing to do with him, and frowned slightly.

Then I saw a figure walking out of the queue, "Queen Mother, Your Majesty! I have something to say."

With this movement and this voice, the originally bustling hall gradually became quiet.

"If Yang Qing has anything to say, just say it."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have been an official for nearly 40 years. In recent years, I have been feeling weak in energy. I often feel faint and incapable of fulfilling the position of the central committee. I am begging for my bones. I wish to return to my hometown and spend my remaining years in peace. I hope that Your Majesty, Your Majesty, will be kind to you." allow!"

All the ministers in the palace suddenly widened their eyes:? ? ? (End of chapter)