Gao Wei walked into the Privy Council with a gloomy face, and several generals saw him coming, and they all stood up and saluted. Zhang Ling hurriedly asked, "What is the Ministry of Rites?" ”

"Dong Qiming's kid is worthy of being an old fritter engaged in diplomacy, and he doesn't leak any tone, just saying that he will investigate and deal with it according to the truth." Gao Wei said angrily, "Don't be bought by Shao An's rhetoric again." ”

"Shao An killed Dong Ji at the beginning, and later prevented Dong Qiming from being promoted. Which side he is on, it is not certain. Zhang Ling persuaded on the side.

Song Yi has always been cautious, remembering that during the time when the mission was repairing in the Jingzhou military camp, Shao An and Dong Qiming got along very happily and there was no estrangement, so he reminded: "It is said that Shao Xiang once threatened the Turkic prince to apologize to Lord Dong, and Lord Dong is grateful for this, perhaps the two of them took advantage of this to turn their rivalry into a jade silk." ”

Gao Wei scoffed, "Shouldn't you apologize?" Shao An, he has to do this, otherwise where will I put my face? ”

Song Yi stepped back and said no more. Gao Wei looked around, saw Li Hongyi and Xu Lei lying lazily in the corner, and said depressedly: "Li Hongyi, Xu Lei, what do you think?" ”

Hearing that he was named, Li Hongyi was so shocked that he immediately stood up and said, "Uh...... The last general, the last general, felt that Shao Xiang...... He's fine. ”

At such a critical moment, Li Hongyi dared to turn his elbow outward! Gao Wei slammed the table angrily, "It's good?" Didn't you see what Shao An and a group of people scolded us for? ”

Li Hongyi shrunk his neck and didn't dare to say anything more.

Xu Lei secretly scolded Hong Yi's brain for being muddy again, he actually helped his opponent speak at this moment, he was really tired. He had no choice but to stand up and clean up the mess for Li Hongyi, "General Li didn't mean that, what he meant was that Shao Xiang did his best to minimize the losses in dealing with the death of the mission." The rest can only do their best to obey the destiny of heaven. ”

Gao Wei asked, "Isn't Shao An responsible at all?" ”

"Absolutely." Xu Lei continued, "Xiang Shao should have asked the detention mission to come before the accident, this is his dereliction of duty, and the Ministry of Rites should consider it in many ways." The last general felt that it was not possible to let Shao Xiang remove from office, and the emperor might just dismiss the prime minister and let him temporarily go to Beijing to make up for his foreign duties. ”

Zhang Ling applauded after hearing this, "Yes, let him get out of the capital, and get as far as possible." ”

"What do you know!" After listening to Xu Lei's analysis, Gao Wei's brows were not relieved, but they wrinkled even tighter, "Shao An's ability should not be underestimated. Even if he pulls down the phase now, how can he guarantee that he will not turn over in the future? The so-called hundred-legged insect is dead but not stiff. ”

Shao An's background is unknown to others, but Gao Wei is clear. With the blessing of the emperor and the support of the party, the prime minister alone cannot completely eradicate his influence in the court. Only when he leaves officialdom once and for all will his threat to the Privy Council disappear.

"If you continue to play impeachment, you will definitely kick him out of officialdom."

※※※※※

In the face of Gao Wei's aggressiveness, the emperor couldn't resist it. He didn't expect Gao Wei to be so stubborn, holding on to Shao An's handle. may have promoted Shao An every time in recent years, he has finally been in the limelight. Now it is in response to the old saying, the moon is full and the water is full. The group of ill-intentioned people in the DPRK and China have been waiting for him to plant this heel.

The Emperor sighed and continued to look at the results of the Ministry of Rites. Dong Qiming's recital is rigorous, and he does not take sides between the lines, but only writes the truth about the death of the mission that day and Shao An's handling afterwards. In the end, the attitude expressed is that the prime minister is guilty of not sin, and the merits are offset.

The emperor picked up the good wolf hair on the table, picked up the pen and wanted to write a "quasi" word, but when he was about to put down the pen, he put it down again. He glanced at the stacks of tall folds next to him, and instructed Chen Huaien, "Go and call Shao An." ”

When Shao An was called by Gonggong Chen from Zhongshu Province to the Yangxin Palace, the emperor was still studying Dong Qiming's excerpts. Seeing Shao An enter the door and salute, he handed him the concerto, "The result of the disposition of the Ministry of Rites is out." ”

Shao An looked at the past at a glance and ten lines, and it seemed that there was no partiality in the recital, but it was actually the best partiality. He remembered that Sun Yi had mentioned it to him in private, saying that he had passed the anger with Dong Qiming and said that he was willing to help. Sure enough, now that Dong Qiming came out, he finally cleared his guilt, and the matter was solved.

"What Lord Dong said is true, and the minister has no objection."

The emperor was silent for a moment, and then casually pulled out a letter from Gao Wei, "This, you can also take a look." ”

Shao An took it, and when he saw it, he realized that it was Gao Wei who impeached him, and his heart suddenly sank, and he had a faint feeling of being bad.

After Shao An finished reading, the emperor said slowly: "I have always had clear rewards and punishments, but now that there is such a big trouble, there must always be an explanation in the court." Gao Wei has made war exploits, and I can't refute his face, so I can only punish him severely. ”

"Minister, please resign." Shao An submitted his resignation again. This result is indeed surprising and reasonable. He has long known that people in officialdom can't help themselves. Even if you are the emperor, you have to take into account the forces of all parties, balance the officialdom, and you can't do what you want.

"It's very comforting that you know so much." After all, the emperor was a little unbearable, "En...... Suspended for three months, I thought about it behind closed doors. Stay out of the way for now, and when this turmoil passes, I'll use you again. ”

"Thank you, Lord Long." Shao An bowed down sincerely, this punishment was much lighter than he imagined, and he understood that the emperor was soft-hearted again.

Perhaps for Shao An, the position of power is not so important, and he was forced by the situation to enter the official career at the beginning. However, even if Shao An will not deliberately chase fame and fortune, he has entered the whirlpool of power, once he loses the protection of power, people who fall into the well abound, and he will never leave easily.

Gao Wei is still not satisfied with this result, and his goal is to remove Shao An from office, not suspend him. However, Shao An was at ease with this, and he was able to take advantage of this to withdraw from the center of the battle. He handed over all government affairs and miscellaneous affairs to Sun Yi, the governor of the government, to deal with them, and he closed the door every day to thank guests, read books and listen to music, and felt uncomfortable.

While Shao An was busy and idle, Gao Wei still jumped up and down, instigating the generals to go to the fold. Seeing this, the emperor had to talk to Gao Wei deeply.

The emperor persuaded him earnestly: "Shao An, he was ignorant before, he was too conceited in his words and deeds, and he offended you many times in words. Now that he knew he was wrong, why bother holding on? ”

"Did he know he was wrong? Don't be deceived by it. Gao Wei said, "He showed that he seemed humble, but in fact he was still arrogant, but he was hiding his minions. ”

"It's just old things, old grudges, as for it? I know that you have never held grudges, why are you so fierce this time? ”

"The last general doesn't blame him for quarreling with me, but the last general hates him for being arrogant and arrogant, using his power to play with power, and playing people in the palm of his hand. If this person is in the court for a day, the world will not be at peace for a day. ”

The emperor said this for a while, and finally got annoyed at this time, "It seems that I will not dismiss Shao An, and this matter cannot be over?" ”

"Your Majesty, don't cause a catastrophe because of a moment of soft-heartedness." Gao Wei bowed to the ground and admonished bitterly, "Your Majesty, the defeat was a lesson back then, but Shao An had no repentance......

"I said that I should not bring up the old things again." The emperor interrupted sharply, "I don't use people, I don't have to be limited by qualifications, I don't have to slander my reputation, I don't have mixed love and hatred, and I don't have to judge my life by one thing. (1) I must not only abandon the flaws and use Shao An, but also gather the intelligence of the world and let it be done according to reason, so that people can make the best use of their talents and materials. ”

Hearing the emperor say such heart-wrenching words, Gao Wei was no longer interested, and he didn't dare to say more, so he had to bow and retire. However, the anger in his heart could not be quelled.

The emperor also knew that it was a palliative rather than a cure, and the struggle between Shao An and Gao Wei would only intensify.

※※※※※

After the conversation, Gao Wei made a truce, and the court finally calmed down. And when Shao An was thinking about the past in the house, there was a gift that broke his peaceful life.

It is said that since Shao An became prime minister, there have been countless people who have given gifts. Shao An insisted on keeping himself clean, and he would never accept gifts that should not be accepted.

There was an endless stream of large and small gifts that could be handed to the Prime Minister's Mansion, and even during his suspension of official thought, someone actually handed a large gift box to the porter.

As a housekeeper, Ari has always been in charge of this matter, and on this day he asked the concierge as usual, "Which adult sent it?" ”

"It was sent by a small servant, but he didn't hand over the name post, and he didn't say who his owner was." It is also the first time that the porter has met a person who gives gifts without leaving a name, just as it is as rare as doing a good deed without leaving a name.

Ari checked the box, feeling that the weight was quite heavy, and he was curious, so he made a gesture to open it.

"It can't be dismantled, it can't be dismantled." The porter hurriedly stopped him, "The little guy said that he wanted the prime minister to open it with his own hands." ”

"Hmph, there's nothing you can't see." Ah Rui sneered, but he was afraid that there would be anything valuable in it, so he dared to make his own decisions, and hurriedly took the gift box to see Shao An.

After listening to the cause and effect, Shao An felt that it was a pretense, and waved his hand impatiently to let Ah Rui open it for him.

"Ahh As soon as Ah Rui opened the box, he suddenly screamed, and handed the box to Shao An with a frightened face.

Shao An took the box suspiciously, and was also taken aback, there was an axe lying inside!

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(1) From: Zhang Juzheng of the Ming Dynasty.