It is not a simple matter to pull up your own forces under the hands of such an emperor.

Cui Yan also knew in his heart that the Qinghe Cui family was far inferior to the Runan Yuan family and the Hongnong Yang family back then, and it was not as good as the Xun family and the Chen family in Yingchuan.

Not to mention that these companies are either in decline as much as before, or have simply disappeared into the dust of history.

The Yuan family and the Yang family, the fourth and third dukes, and the protégés and former officials are all over the world, and they have all disappeared into the dust of history.

The Xun family and the Chen family, the top scholar families in Yingchuan, and the absolutely outstanding candidate families of the three princes of the central government, have also declined now, and they are not as good as before.

Especially the Xun family, because he committed the emperor's taboo, stood on the wrong team, and was beaten by the emperor even with him, and the losses were heavy, and he almost returned to his original form.

Now there is only one Xun Yu in the entire Xun clan who works honestly in the staff station, which is almost equal to a tool man.

The Xun clan was suppressed very badly.

The Chen family didn't know what was going on, it should have been implicated by the Xun family, not only lost the household registration of Yingchuan, but was moved to Ye County, Jizhou, and the respected Chen Ji had already died of illness.

Now there is only one Chen Qun in the Chen family who works honestly in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and behaves with his tail between his legs, and the rest of the scholars are afraid of his sensitive identity, and few dare to associate with him, which is basically equivalent to a tool man.

Where are the top giants of the year still in the past?

Although the current rising stars are absolutely unwilling to let these old families rise again to seize the political resources they have so hard-won.

Those top scholars who dominated the Eastern Han Dynasty all had extremely strong fame, political power or military strength in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

But in the twenty years of turmoil, they all turned into ashes and disappeared without a trace.

The big family that fought against the emperor both militarily and politically did not end well.

After seeing the fate of these families, other scholar families who were lucky enough to survive to the Wei Empire were very honest and honest.

You can't commit the emperor's taboo.

The emperor gives, let's take it.

If the emperor doesn't give it, we can't rob it.

To cooperate with the emperor, he can't go head-to-head with the emperor, he can't make the emperor feel that everyone is threatening him, he really has to tear his face, and the hundreds of thousands of troops in his hands are not a joke.

This was originally the consensus of everyone.

But now, some people have committed a taboo.

The emperor was angry.

It seems that a storm is coming.

Cui Yan thought about it, his heart was uneasy, and he couldn't think of a solution, so he immediately went to find Tian Feng and tried to find a solution to the problem.

Tian's daughter is one of Guo Peng's concubines, so the Tian family is a member of the group of relatives.

The Tian family itself has the identity of the scholar family, and now it is a family of relatives, so it is very good under the support of Guo Peng, and it seems to be a representative family of Jizhou scholars.

is also a Jizhou scholar family, the Cui family has always been very close to the Tian family, and the relationship between the two families is very good.

But Tian Feng's current life is not easy.

He is the only scholar in Shangshutai.

After Chen Ji died, Guo Peng did not arrange another Shangshu servant, he was the only Shangshu servant, if Cheng Yu was the de facto prime minister, he was the deputy prime minister.

In charge of the Ministry of Engineering, in charge of the world's urban defense and water conservancy road projects, in Guo someone's big infrastructure today, countless money passed through Tian Feng's hands, of course he is a high-powered person.

As a result, I never expected that Cui Qu, an important person in the center of the whirlpool, was a member of the Yu Department in the Ministry of Industry, and he was an official of the Ministry of Industry.

The reason why Cui Qu entered the Ministry of Industry as an official is inseparable from the relationship between the Cui family and the Tian family.

Regardless of whether this is actually the case or not, everyone thinks so anyway, because the Cui family and the Tian family are indeed very close.

The two families are now related by marriage.

Although Cui Yan and Tian Feng did not know about this matter, they could not say that it had nothing to do with them.

The relationship is deep.

So while Cui Yan was anxious, Tian Feng was also anxious.

He himself was not opposed to the introduction of a higher commercial tax.

Because the Tian family was included in the imperial merchant group by Guo Peng, and entered the Mi clan caravan to participate in the shares, they could get a lot of wealth, but they had to pay huge taxes.

So Tian Feng is happy to let everyone pay taxes with him.

He also planned to speak for Wang Cang and Zaoyi and support them.

As a result, I never expected that because of the subordinate officials, the entire Ministry of Industry was involved in this whirlpool and could not extricate itself.

In the counterattack launched by Wang Cang and others, in order to clean up Cui Qu, they successively broke out several problems with the project payment of the Ministry of Industry, which Tian Feng himself did not know.

Tian Feng was frightened, and hurriedly organized people to investigate overnight.

The problems that broke out outside were not found, but a lot of problems that did not break out were found, not to mention, they were mainly concentrated in the Yu Department where Cui Qu worked.

The Yu Department is one of the subordinate departments of the Ministry of Industry, which is in charge of the mountains, gardens, plants, charcoal, and other things.

This is the Eastern Han Dynasty Yu Cao Shangshu reappointment.

In the Imperial Palace, it is responsible for adding bricks and tiles to the emperor's daily life, adding and modifying the royal gardens, adding and subtracting, and making the emperor feel comfortable.

In the official office, it is responsible for providing some necessary daily consumables to the official office of foreign courts, and it is also necessary to do a good job in environmental greening.

After the establishment of the Wei Empire, Guo Peng set up ten eunuch yamen to take care of all the things inside the palace.

Even if there is no qualification to participate in the palace, even if the official office outside the palace is repaired and rebuilt, it is indispensable to deal with money, so Lang Zhong, the chief official of the Yu Department, and Lang Lang, the deputy official, are recognized as one of the fat differences.

Wei Law stipulates that corruption should be imprisoned for three generations.

But Zhu Yuanzhang also stipulated that corruption should be peeled off the skin.

Guo never thought that Wei Lu could stop corruption, it was usually the art of the emperor to turn a blind eye, and when the time came to beat Wei Lu to death in one breath, it was also the art of the emperor.

Cui Qu is a member of the Yu Department, an adjutant of the Yu Department, not the chief officer, and as a result, this kind of thing happened.

It is conceivable that there are still some unsightly things in the entire Ministry of Industry that have not been tossed and understood, and how many places in these accounts are unclear and traceable.

Tian Feng was very anxious, and when he was arranging for someone to investigate this matter, Cui Yan came.

"Ji Jue! What do you mean by coming at this time? Don't you think I'm messy enough here? I'm already out of the cracks, what are you going to do? ”

As soon as Tian Feng saw Cui Yan, his face was full of unhappiness and complaints.

"Yuan Hao! I'm messy there, too, but isn't there no way around it? Things have come to this point, I can only come to you to discuss! ”

"What are you talking to me about? Cui Qu's trouble is not big enough? If you don't hurry up and confess to Your Majesty, what are you doing here? If anyone sees it, they will definitely chase after the wind and spread rumors, you and I will conspire and plot against each other, and it will be even worse when the time comes! ”

Tian Feng glared and was about to drive Cui Yan away.

Cui Yan's face was full of helplessness.

"It's come to this, and no matter what we do, it's going to be useless! Is it a secret that you and I are married? At this moment, we can only survive by working together, otherwise, Xun and Chen will be our end! ”

Tian Feng thought about it and felt that it made sense, so he closed the door and asked Cui Yan to sit down, and the two discussed this matter together.

"The incident happened suddenly, I didn't expect this matter to be involved to this point, it was just a commercial tax or not, but it turned out to be to this point! Cao Mengde and Wang Zhongxuan are simply ......"

Cui Yan's face was full of sorrow: "Who would have thought that it would be possible to make trouble to this point?" It's only been about a month, and if it continues, I don't know what will happen! When the time comes, His Majesty will be furious, which of us will be able to get the benefits? ”

Tian Feng nodded anxiously.

"It's come to this point, there's no point in saying this, Ji Jue, this time, Cui Qu made a big fuss, and he committed His Majesty's taboo, if you dig deeper, I don't know how many people will be implicated, originally everyone tacitly agreed, this poke out, the problem will be big, you have to be mentally prepared, this person, can't be guaranteed."

Cui Yan looked hesitant.

"This ...... Anyway, he is a member of my family, and his knowledge is very good, and the clan is very optimistic about him, and I have recommended him to His Majesty, hoping that he can enter the cabinet......"

"What kind of cabinet are you still in? Not losing your head is the best ending! Your Majesty's means of doing things are still not clear to you? Didn't you see the fate of Xun Wenruo and Zang Ziyuan? How did Chen Gong die, haven't we counted it in our hearts? The result of raiding the house! It's only been a few years? Forgot?! ”

Tian Feng shouted eagerly: "All in all, the Cui family must not protect him, and even his family can't protect him, if you want to protect him, you Qinghe Cui family will wait to destroy the family." ”

"This ......"

Cui Yan looked terrified: "Your Majesty is acting a mercy, this ...... Isn't that enough? ”

"Not really?"

Tian Feng sneered: "The Xun family and the Chen family also thought so at the beginning! Is it your Cui clan that has a high reputation or a Xun clan that has a high reputation of the Chen clan? Did His Majesty hesitate when he destroyed the Chen and Xun clans? Which one of Xun Yu and Chen Ji is not an old minister who has followed His Majesty for many years? Benevolent? ”

Cui Yan stopped talking, and his expression was shaken.

After thinking about it again, Cui Yan nodded with difficulty.

"If I give up Cui Qu, cut it off, and go to His Majesty to confess my guilt, will the Cui clan be able to survive this catastrophe?"

"It's hard to say, I can't give you an accurate answer, but at least I won't follow in the footsteps of the Xun family and the Chen family, and I won't end up like that."

Tian Feng shook his head.

"To get to this point?"

Cui Yan didn't want to believe it.

Tian Feng suddenly became angry.

"This matter is nothing in the former Han, but now it's not the former Han, it's Wei! Today, Your Majesty pays attention to a line that cannot be crossed, and you cannot cross the line drawn by Your Majesty! Even if you step on the line, as long as the problem is not big, Your Majesty can turn a blind eye, but you can't cross it! ”

Tian Feng shouted angrily: "Cui Qu District, a member of the Yu Department, actually relied on your identity to reach out to the ministry!" Hook up with officials of the ministry! What is this behavior? You don't want to think about it yourself? The appointment of officials in the world is not carried out by the Ministry of Officials, is Cui Qu the Secretary of the Ministry of Officials? Or the emperor?! ”

This roar scared Cui Yan enough.

"No...... More than that, right? It's just a few small officials, and it is impossible to affect the overall situation at all, this ...... How could Your Majesty ......"

Tian Feng immediately stretched out his hand to interrupt Cui Yan's words.

"Cui Jiqi, don't say what Your Majesty will think if he knows about this matter, think about what Cheng Zhongde will think when he knows about this matter! He is a secretary of the ministry, and your son did this kind of thing under his nose and hid him, he didn't know it, and he didn't know until it happened.

That's it, it's all like that! Let me tell you, things have come to this point, even if Your Majesty is merciful and doesn't do anything to you, Cheng Zhongde can't wait to tear you apart! You're slapping him in the face! You don't understand Cheng Zhongde's character? Gangy! That's what he did! ”

Cui Yan kept wiping the cold sweat from his head.

"Cheng Zhongde was born in a poor family, and he has been promoted by His Majesty all the way, I know that many of you look down on his background, but you must know that he was the first person to take refuge in His Majesty, and he was born as His Majesty's closest retainer! O retainers! Even Guo Fengxiao is not as close to him!

You offended Cheng Zhongde to death this time! And implicate me! He knows that I am in-law with your family, can he think of me in this matter? Well? I am Shang Shu Servant, he is Shang Shu Ling, I am a minister, he is Yuan Cong! Once he is angry with me, will I have a good life?! ”

The more Tian Feng spoke, the more angry he became, and pointed at Cui Yan and scolded angrily.

Cui Yan was scolded, and his face became more and more pale, and by the time Tian Feng finished speaking, Cui Yan's face was already pale and trembling.

"Such as ...... In this way, I ...... Aren't we ......?"

Tian Feng took a heavy breath and calmed down his emotions.

"Go to Your Majesty right away and confess your guilt! Don't delay any longer, confess your guilt now, maybe you can save the future of you and the Cui family, if you don't do this, once Cheng Zhongde makes a move on you, don't expect me to help you, I can't protect myself.

How many people did Cui Qu implicate this time, and once they were punished by His Majesty, what would they think of you? What will you think of me? Well? Cheng Zhongde alone is enough to kill me, what does this matter have to do with me? I don't know! If it weren't for you! And that Cui Qu! Am I like this? ”

Tian Feng gasped heavily, his face full of regret.

"I shouldn't have promised you to carry that bastard! If he does something wrong, how many people will be implicated? If Your Majesty is determined to rectify it, you! I! And Cheng Zhongde! Who can get out of it all?! ”

Tian Feng said that to this point, Cui Yan no longer had any luck.

Cui Yan lowered his head, closed his eyes, and nodded silently.

"I know, I'll go, but Yuan Hao, you...... Aren't you going to do something? If Cheng Zhongde is really dissatisfied with you, then ...... What do you do? ”

"Do you care about me? Take care of yourself, you are directly responsible! ”

Tian Feng rolled his eyes, and then said worriedly: "I have never had a very good relationship with Cheng Zhongde, this person has a good temperament, he can't rub sand in his eyes, and he can't tolerate people who disobey him, Cui Qu's friends are hopeless."

My words here...... Hmph, he must be dissatisfied with me, but Cheng Zhongde is dissatisfied with me on the one hand, my family has a daughter who is Your Majesty's concubine, and also gave birth to a daughter for Your Majesty, no matter how dissatisfied Cheng Zhongde is, it depends on keeping his hand on this point. ”

Tian Feng said in a low voice: "It's ridiculous, at this time, my family is full of two women to protect it...... Ridiculous, ridiculous! ”

"There are still two women in your family, my family...... Not even such a woman. ”

Cui Yan sighed deeply and said: "I don't think about him, it's best to keep my official position, but I can't keep it...... Resign yourself to fate, what the Son of Heaven wants to do, it's not something I can stop, what can I do? ”

After speaking, Cui Yan got up tiredly, left the official office of the Ministry of Works, and went straight to the palace.

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