This day's court meeting made Wang Fu and Xiao Xian wake up suddenly, and the emperor's thoughts from seventeen years ago were still not dispelled.

The previous request for Liu Jingchuan to go to Liangzhou and refuse to inspect the operation of the Cao River was just a trick.

But this time, everyone in the court can only raise objections from the candidates, after all, inspecting the operation of the Caohe River has always been the "consensus" of the ministers.

The Xiao family's industry in the capital occupies more than half, the Wang family accounts for one percent, and the rest is what other families can share, but the grain and rice industry is divided equally between the Xiao family and the Wang family.

There were also others who tried to get involved in the grain and rice business, either by the bandits, or by the fire or sinking of the cargo ship. Even the grain transported by the imperial court will be inexplicably sunken and robbed in good years.

In addition to killing more than a dozen officials, the emperor also sent troops to suppress the bandits along the road, but often they couldn't find the figure of the bandits, and the people who came back either killed the good and risked the merits, and went to the place to catch a few small thieves with a little conscience.

For the Xiao family and the Wang family to monopolize the grain and rice industry, other families have long been dissatisfied, and if they can't do the grain and rice business, it's still okay to do things in the court.

And Xiao Xian and Wang Fu felt that even if they sent people to investigate and send troops to suppress it every year, it would be fine, so they never interfered, and even supported everyone's proposal to inspect the Caohe River transshipment.

But this time, the situation was very different, and the king of Jin was sent to bring Zuo Sanxiang and Liu Jingchuan.

King Jin is the emperor's own son, and there must be no accident, otherwise the emperor will forcibly turn his face and flip the table, but King Jin is young, but he can fool around.

But what kind of person is Zuo Sanxiang, even the second-grade officials of the imperial court have chopped him up without authorization, and hundreds of thousands of wet poison people have not been able to beat him.

And Liu Jingchuan is too proficient in the transfer of grain and grass, and it is likely that he already knows the trick.

These three people, one is a talisman, one is a murder knife, and the other is a demon mirror, it seems that the bad things in the Caohe transfer can't be hidden.

"Abandon the pawn and protect the car! Get away! Don't be reckless! Xiao Xian's staff member Xi Donglou was having a conversation with Wang Fu's staff Qian Jingzhi in a restaurant

"No! Boiled frogs in warm water! Sooner or later it will be our turn! Do you sit still? ”

"Every time there is calm in a major event, the emperor is the first to hit the grass and startle the snake, hoping that we will mess up! So even if we have losses, we can't act rashly! ”

"Once the knife is out of its sheath, it is difficult to put it away! What's more, with this big knife, it is impossible to kill only a few small shrimps! ”

"Now the fire is not ready, and the other families want to fall into the well! At this time, the counterattack is extremely unfavorable! ”

"When the matter of Caohe transshipment is over, I'm afraid it will be difficult to have a chance!"

"The emperor is not a reckless man, he is measured, and he will stop in moderation, just like back then!"

Qian Jingzhi saw that Xi Donglou was full of confidence, so he shook his head, took a sip of tea and got up to leave.

Liu Jingchuan, who was originally going to Liangzhou to take office, took a deep breath after receiving the order to inspect the Caohe transshipment.

Zhao Qian, who passed the decree, attached to Liu Jingchuan's ear and said: "King Jin and Marquis Zuo are also envoys of this inspection!" Don't worry, Lord Liu! ”

"I'm not worried, it's just that this thing came too quickly, I didn't expect that this time I could really show my strength, I was a little excited"

"Lord Liu, be careful in everything, I'll go back next time!"

On this night, the Jin Wang's Mansion was brightly lit, so that some officials living around thought that something had happened to the Jin Wang's family.

The Jin Palace, which has always been frugal and simple, turns off the lights at the beginning of every day, and there is at most one lamp in the study.

Pei Yun led some officials to the Jin Palace, Zuo Sanxiang and Liu Jingchuan were late, but there were Xiao Hui and Dong Xing who were even later.

Xiao Hui is Xiao Xian's eldest son, and this time he is here to show an attitude, and the Xiao family also supports the inspection of Caohe transshipment.

Dong Xing came on behalf of Wang Fu, and Wang Fu was not at ease with Xiao Xian, after all, the Xiao family was not doing the grain and rice business in the capital, and there was also a porcelain and silk tea business to do.

And the Wang family is not good, the business of the dart bureau from Jiangnan to the capital is taken care of by the Wang family, if the inspection of the Caohe transshipment is thoroughly investigated, there will be no need for any dart bureau on this road.

However, the King of Jin entertained the ministers, and it was still the same, with five kinds of green vegetable and tofu soup, Hu cake roll barbecue, cranberry stewed meat soup, green sunflower chicken soup, and corn rice.

The wine is a cloudy farmhouse wine bought from the cheapest winery in Luoyang City.

Many people took chopsticks and only put a small piece of meat in the bowl, and only a few people such as Liu Jingchuan and Pei Yun were eating.

People who don't eat naturally raised their wine glasses and spoke, "I wish His Royal Highness the King of Jin to take on a great responsibility, clean up the fortune for my beam, and benefit the country and the people!" Ladies and gentlemen, let's toast His Royal Highness King Jin together! ”

King Jin made a push gesture with his hands outward, "You guys are too famous, this king."

It's just to do what should be done, or the emperor Shengming sent Marquis Zuo and Lord Liu to assist, and the matter of the Caohe transfer will definitely give a satisfactory explanation to the government and the opposition! ”

"Yes, the problems in this Cao River transshipment, if you don't investigate it thoroughly, you can't give an explanation to the subjects of the world! If you don't find out the culprit behind it, it's not enough to make people angry! ”

"This time, the king of Jin will be able to clear the sea and the river and eliminate harm for the country!"

"Yes, yes, if we don't rectify the matter of this Cao River transfer, we won't even be able to eat this corn!"

The words were all beautiful, but few people moved chopsticks to the corn rice in front of them.

King Jin drank a full cup, and then made a stop gesture, "Everyone, a porridge and a meal are not easy to come by, they are all people's fat and people's ointment, and it is extremely difficult to transport them from Huainan." Everyone must finish drinking the wine today, and the food on the table must also be eaten, otherwise they will look down on this king! ”

After speaking, King Jin didn't look at everyone, and picked up the corn and ate it himself.

Many people were stunned, but Dong Xing reacted quickly, and also took a big bite of corn, and did not forget to tease everyone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you eat too much fine grain and rice on weekdays, it will be bad, eat some coarse grains from time to time, keep your appetite and good health! This is a kind heart of King Jin, you must not let down King Jin! ”

Zuo Sanxiang had already seen Dong Xing coming, this Dong Xing was a famous doctor in Daliang, a first-class swordsman, and Wang Fu's sworn friend. So he quietly changed positions with the official next to Dong Xing.

"Doctor Dong, Zuo came to you today to learn this way of health preservation, haha, you don't hesitate to give advice!"

Dong Xing was also calm and put down the dishes and chopsticks, "Hou Ye Zuo is sitting next to me, a person who has no merit, this really flatters me!" Disrespectful, disrespectful! I'm thinking, the king of Jin and the marquis can eat corn, why don't the adults present dare to take their mouths with bowls? ”

As soon as Dong Xing said this, some officials chewed corn with their eyes closed, like eating coptis, their brows wrinkled a few lines, and their cheeks were pulled up.

Some people buried their heads in the appearance and took a few bites and opened their mouths to Dong Xing, "The King of Jin and the Marquis eat corn, that is the day when they have the people of Li in their hearts and experience the farmer's house, and you are a person who eats corn and rice." It is too presumptuous to dare to tease the ministers of the court here! ”

"Yes, what is your identity, coming to the Jin Palace?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, King Jin immediately beckoned to everyone, "Today's guests are all invited by me, and everyone who comes is a guest, and there are rules for guests!" Please respect yourselves! ”

Dong Xing didn't fight back, but laughed a few times at Zuo Sanxiang, and Zuo Sanxiang immediately understood.

This Dong Xing came to sabotage, but the means were used very well, and ordinary people couldn't react when they caught the way.

"There are a lot of Doctor Dong, don't see us anymore, by the way, this Jin Wangfu's Hu Cake Roll Barbecue, it tastes excellent, Doctor Dong might as well give it a try!"

Dong Xing nodded, and raised the Hu cake in front of him, "Please also ask Master Zuo to do a demonstration, in the countryside rough people, this way of eating has never been seen!" ”

Zuo Sanxiang spread out the Hu cake in front of him, tore off the barbecue and put it on top of the Hu cake, then added some green onions and garlic, rolled the Hu cake into a long strip and handed it to Dong Xing.

"Dong has thanked Master Hou, and I learned something new today!"

Dong Xing's appetite was excellent, and after a while, he put all the five things in front of him into his stomach, and then directly took a bowl of cranberry stew from the plate in front of Zuo Sanxiang.

Many ministers pointed at him, and King Jin was about to reprimand everyone again, but Zuo Sanxiang waved his hand to him.

Pei Yun also understood at this time that the reason why Dong Xing was like this was nothing more than to make a rift between the King of Jin and the ministers, this dinner was already cold enough, Dong Xing was so sarcastic here, and the King of Jin reprimanded everyone, it was inevitable that someone would leave the table.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is rare for the King of Jin to feast and drink with you, but the King of Jin has always been frugal, please don't be surprised! Today's banquet was decreed by the emperor, and there is no violation of the rules of the prince's personal relationship with the minister. It's just to work with you to rectify the matter of Caohe transshipment! Pei is not talented, the official position is not high, and it is not as noble as your status, Pei gives you a cup, and please appreciate your face! ”

Zuo Sanxiang was the first to respond, "Zuo has thanked the general for his kindness, and he must fulfill his duties and do a good job for the emperor and the court, and repay the King of Jin for his kindness!" ”

Some ministers who were good friends with Pei Yun also came to their senses, and they came to the banquet today to show their attitude to King Jin, but they were almost stirred up by Dong Xing.

"The ministers are ashamed, the King of Jin is so courteous today, the ministers should work together to do a good job with the King of Jin!"

"The ministers lost their temper for a while, and asked the King of Jin and the general of the chariot cavalry not to be surprised! This determination to clean up the Cao River transshipment, we will never change! ”

The rest of the people all expressed their own positions, saying that they would do their best to support King Jin, in fact, they wanted to deal with the Xiao family and the Wang family

Add insult to injury.

Originally, everyone made money, and the business was done together, these two had to monopolize, and usually other families dared to be angry and dare not speak, but this time with the support of the emperor, the king of Jin was sent as an envoy. Even if they can't overturn the Xiao family and the Wang family, they can make their grain and rice business plummet from then on.

The rice in the capital is expensive, and the labor hired by each family is also expensive, and the most domestic slave tenants are the Wang family, and the rest are all hired by the Wang family.

Other families want to get their house slave tenants in their hometown to the capital, but they can't pass the pass of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Jing Zhaoyin is the person recommended by the Xiao family, and even the house slaves who were privately transported to the capital by the Pei family were also driven back on the grounds that they were not registered and could not be accepted.

Xiao Hui was the only one who didn't eat the things on the table or spoke, but quietly listened to everyone's words.

This Xiao Hui was born to a peasant girl who took him in when Xiao Xian was not yet developing, and later after Xiao Xian defected to the emperor, he abandoned his wife by virtue of being the nephew of Empress Xiao.

Since his mother was sent back to his hometown, Xiao Hui has rarely spoken, and has been in obscurity in the Xiao family, neither practicing martial arts nor being an official, and just taking care of housework at home with the housekeeper all day long.

Xiao Xian felt a little guilty about Xiao Hui, so he called Xiao Hui to the study alone from time to time to give him guidance, and asked Xiao Hui to do something for him that was inconvenient for him to come forward.

Even the King of Jin didn't notice the concubine of the Xiao Mansion who didn't speak, and the princess Du Ruohong, who came to give the King of Jin a handkerchief, caught a glimpse of the expressionless man, so she pulled the King of Jin's clothes behind the back and pointed at Xiao Hui.

"Young Master Xiao Hui, if this king is not well entertained, please forgive me! Today, the son was snubbed, it was the negligence of this king, and please come forward to sit down and talk. ”

Xiao Hui stood up and bent over and saluted with fists, "King Xie Jin, I just never eat out in Xia, please forgive King Jin!" This feast is almost over, and I am going to say goodbye! ”

After speaking, Xiao Hui respectfully retreated, and the king of Jin had to let the servant send it off.

When the guests dispersed, only Pei Yunzuo's three prime ministers, Liu Jingchuan, were left, and the king of Jin took them to the study to discuss the inspection of the Caohe transshipment.

The third phase on the left said that he was going home, and the three of them were surprised.

"Marquis Zuo, let's not discuss such a big matter?"

"Mr. Zuo, if you have any difficulties, it doesn't matter!"

"Lao Zuo, this is not your style, could it be that someone threatens you?"

Zuo Sanxiang smiled, "It is precisely because it is a major event, so there is no need to discuss, no matter how good the plan is in advance, it is just a plan, and the plan can never catch up with the change, not to mention that once we have a clear plan, the opponent will also deal with it according to our plan." We might as well bring more people, make a big fanfare, get on the boat upstairs, and have a good time drinking and singing and dancing! ”

"What does Mr. Zuo mean to confuse the opponent?"

"It's not confusing, it's really going to drink and get drunk and dream of death! Wait until you get to the place and then act, so that all the opponent's thinking and response will not be solved. Let them guess and think! ”

Liu Jingchuan still felt that it was not appropriate, and shook his head, "Lao Zuo, march to fight, I will obey you, but is there such a case in this investigation?" The investigation of the case pays attention to evidence, and pays attention to the capture of stolen goods! If you don't arrange analysis and judgment in advance, you can't just arrest people at that time! ”

"Lao Liu, you are still too honest, after so many years, the fake accounts have long been more real than the real accounts, the files we see and the information we get are what others want us to see, and the flaws in them are also deliberately left by others! You honestly look for evidence to find witnesses, check accounts, catch a dozen scapegoats at most, it's useless! For this stubborn disease, you have to use fierce medicine! When the time comes, the King of Jin and the general of the Che Cavalry must not be accommodating on behalf of others, I estimate that at least 2,000 heads will be killed this time! ”

Zuo Sanxiang said very indifferently, and King Jin's pen fell down in fright, "Mr. Zuo, we are investigating the case, not killing people casually, Lord Liu is right, this is not a war!" ”

"This is war, to deal with the moths of the country, if we are soft-hearted and have to talk to them about the rules, then we can't fight them. If you want to break the game, you have to use thunder means! If the three of them think that Zuo's method is inappropriate, then they can play tomorrow, and I won't go! ”

Pei Yun patted King Jin on the back, "His Royal Highness King Jin, Marquis Zuo is right, if you investigate the matter of the transfer of the Cao River according to the normal procedure, you will not be able to find anything, and the disease for many years must be eradicated with fierce medicine, otherwise this disease will bury the entire Liang!" ”

King Jin looked at Zuo Sanxiang again, "Then it depends on Mr. Zuo, but please also ask Mr. to approve it, so as not to kill innocent people!" ”

"This matter, of course, has to be approved, Zuo Mou must let them all feel the benevolence and righteousness of His Royal Highness King Jin!"

When this sentence came out, Liu Jingchuan smiled, "His Royal Highness the King of Jin, you don't need to tell you about this matter, Lao Zuo, after so many years, don't you know him?" When did he speak to his opponent about benevolence and morality? ”