Jiang is old and spicy, Shi Yi admires the old and strong old man Cao, on the surface, the four major families raised Liu Zhenglong high, to put it bluntly, this young man is just a butcher knife in the hands of the four major families, you can lift the butcher knife high, or you can easily discard it.

On the way back, Shi Yi carefully thought about every word that Old Man Cao said, although it was that truth, but it was necessary to make complete preparations, after all, once the Jin army went south, everything was out of control, if you couldn't prepare in advance, everything would be in vain, and in the end it would still be empty joy.

In the civil official world, in the Great Song Dynasty, it can be said that the civil official group has reached the point of pervasiveness, and even such a secret thing as Liu Zhenglong's embezzlement of Zhu Mian's wealth can be collected, so what secrets are there in the Great Song Dynasty.

The court is known as the six thieves, of course, Zhu Mian has been killed, and now there are only five thieves left, but because Zheng Juzhong is the prince's father-in-law, he is vaguely the sixth thief, but this guy is hidden and has a good reputation among the people, and he has not been rated as a thief.

If there is a struggle, there will be cooperation, no, in the face of the counterattack of the meritorious group, the civilian clique will be unprecedentedly united, and everyone will gather together to discuss countermeasures.

In order to avoid suspicion, the civil official group directly chose the relatively open drunken immortal upstairs, at least the gathering here will not attract the attention of the Imperial City Division, and it will not be feared by the officials.

Due to the oldest qualifications, the oldest Taishi Cai Jing has not yet arrived, and everyone is chatting about it, from major events in the court to folk anecdotes, from the court to the wind and snow, it can be said that there are all kinds of things, and these guys have reached the point where they have nothing to talk about.

Zheng Zhong was not in a good mood and was reluctant to pay attention to these people's conversations, but when he saw his friend Bai Shizhong coming, he still took the initiative to say hello.

Bai Shizhong saw that Zheng Zhong was sullen, so he said: "Brother Zheng, what's the matter, now the Zheng family is proud, your eldest brother will soon enter the political hall, why do you look preoccupied." ”

"Brother Bai, you don't know, it's not my precious daughter tossing, okay, don't talk about this, let's talk about something else, I heard that the messenger from the north is coming, I don't know what will happen in the end."

Zheng Zhong was reluctant to mention his family affairs to the outside world, so he hurriedly changed the topic.

As soon as he mentioned the north, Bai Shizhong was angry, and after he sat down, he said angrily: "It's not just the messenger who came, but two messengers?" ”

"Two messengers, what's going on?" Yu Shen heard the conversation here and came over.

Bai Shizhong said helplessly: "Li Chuwen, the prime minister of Liao, has sent a representative, and the Jin State has also sent a representative, but the content of the peace discussion is different!" ”

As soon as they heard that the representatives of the Jin State, Tang Ke, Zhang Bangchang, and Xu Churen all came over, everyone was still very sensitive to the representatives of the Jin State.

Bai Shizhong said angrily: "The representative of the Jin State is barbaric and powerless, and insists that the imperial court fulfill the alliance on the sea. It's really insulting, and the group of idiots in Xifu still value this envoy of the Jin Kingdom very much, and they are really angry. ”

"What is the attitude of the Liao envoy?"

The attitude towards the Liao State is what the civil officials are most concerned about, because most of these people have a constant and chaotic relationship with the Liao State.

"The Liao State proposes to return the sixteen states of Youyun step by step, and the annual coins can be reduced, but I need to pay five million to redeem it."

As soon as Bai Shizhong's words came out, everyone was in an uproar, and these people talked about it, as if they were going to break the roof.

"The conditions are acceptable, just let Liu Zhenglong get the money." A male duck's voice came from the door, and it was obvious that it was Yin Xiang Liang Shicheng who spoke.

That's right, in this way, the imperial court doesn't have to pay a penny, and it can take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun without a single soldier, which is obviously what Wenchen wants. Everyone began to talk again, but some of these people raised questions, and at this time, a voice came, Taishi arrived.

Taishi Cai Jing was belatedly surrounded by everyone.

The name of a man, the shadow of a tree. Taishi Cai Jing appeared, and the room was silent, and everyone looked at this seventy-year-old lady with admiration and respect.

After Taishi Cai Jing sat down, he waved his hand to signal everyone to sit down, and he said unhurriedly: "It's good for Liu Zhenglong to pay the money, it's rare that you don't know that he now represents the meritorious family?" Don't you know what his money portends? ”

The crowd was silent, and all who could come in were human spirits, so why didn't they understand the truth?

Cai Jing saw that everyone was silent, so he said with a smile: "Things are often the opposite, otherwise they will come." Liu Zhenglong's problem is not that it can't be solved, the key is what we should do on the issue of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, if the meritorious family has the upper hand on this issue, then I am afraid that the direction of the wind will change. ”

"It's all up to the Taishi to decide."

ruling, Cai Jing's old face showed a treacherous smile, he said with a smile: "There is nothing to adjudicate, the key is that the dictatorship of the Sacred Heart is the most important, we must try our best to stop the Northern Expedition, which requires everyone to work together, after all, the final decision is not in the hands of the official family but in the political hall, but because of this matter, it is obviously inappropriate to finally force the official family to the side of the meritorious family, so we have to divide it into two steps, the first step, the political hall will come forward, and the officials will advise the official family to agree to the proposal of the Liao State, The two sides negotiate peace, if this step can be passed, there is no need for the second step, if it can't be done, then we will take the second step, let the meritorious families fight for it, according to their wishes, negotiate peace with the Jin State, implement the maritime alliance, and use force to recover the sixteen states of Youyun. Of course, the person who went out on the expedition was the prime minister, as for Liu Zhenglong, he could find a way to win him over, after all, he was a civil official, and he would eventually have to enter the cabinet to pay homage to the prime minister, what the meritorious group could give him, we could too, and what the meritorious group could not give, we could also, in a word, we should separate it from the meritorious family. ”

"Then what if this Liu Zhenglong doesn't know the current affairs?"

At this time, Li Bangyan said unhurriedly: "It takes many years of planning to win a person, but it is easy to destroy a person. It's okay for Liu Zhenglong to come back obediently, if he is obsessed, then send him to the guillotine. ”

Cai Jing obviously thought differently from everyone else, he didn't say anything more, but turned around and left, which showed that the old man was not interested in Li Bangyan's proposal, but he didn't raise any objections.

Things are so simple, Liang Shicheng also left after him, but he and Cai Jing did not go back to their respective homes, but the two went to a hidden place.

"Old lady, Liu Zhenglong has taken the initiative to resign, and now he has been turned into a civil official and served as a transfer envoy on Hebei Road, but the edict has not yet been delivered to the political hall."

"In the old expectation, Liu Zhenglong's move to retreat as advance, easily defused the offensive of the political hall, it can be said that there is no move to win, and this move will reverse the situation, leaving a good impression in the hearts of the officials, on the contrary, the officials think that the political hall is a little too much for this protégé of the Son of Heaven."

Cai Jing was not surprised by what Liang Shicheng said, and the old man said after taking a sip of tea: "Actually, Liu Zhenglong is also passing a message to us, he doesn't want to be attached to a meritorious family, he just wants to make a meritorious career, he wants to be a marquis and worship the prime minister, just stepping on the shoulders of a meritorious family." This is not necessarily a bad thing for us, on the contrary, maybe it is still a good thing, this guy is the transfer envoy of Hebei, so even if it is a northern expedition, the meritorious family will not be able to get any cheap. ”

For a long time, the civil official group has looked down on the meritorious family at all, thinking that it is just a group of Qiu Ba lying on the merit book of their ancestors. If you want to seize power, it's just a fool's dream, not to mention.

Cai Jing is a husband who has gone through ups and downs, what things have not been experienced, what kind of people have not seen them, how can he easily hand over power? The old man didn't take the meritorious family in his eyes at all.

Liang Shicheng was a little worried, this guy said cautiously: "It is rumored that the Jin Army is as fierce as a tiger, what if the Northern Expedition fails, in that case, will the meritorious family take the opportunity to seize power." ”

"It's not that easy to seize power. Tomorrow, the students will take to the streets, and the public opinion in the entire capital will make a voice, once the anti-war becomes the mainstream, then it will be difficult for the officials to change, of course, we can't put all the treasures on this. You can find a way to use the Imperial City Division to find the envoy of the Jin State, find a way to intercept and kill him, and find a way to make the meritorious family a scapegoat. ”

The content of the conversation between the two old foxes is unknown to the outside world, but one thing cannot be wrong, that is, each has its own ghosts, each has its own plans, and each has its own calculations. Especially Liang Shicheng, this old eunuch himself does not belong to a civil official, nor does he belong to a meritorious family, he is not interested in the dispute between the two, what he is most interested in is how to continue his power, and everything else does not matter.

The old fox Cai Jing was not surprised by Liu Zhenglong's visit at all, on the contrary, he felt that this young man knew the current affairs and knew how to behave, and only such a young man would be able to stand firm in the future, which was more powerful than his son.

Cai Jing looked at Liu Zhenglong, who was sincerely frightened, and said: "Say, young man, what happened today, compared to the transcript of the political affairs hall, you have already seen it, and the official family has also given you an explanation, now it can be said that you have no worries, it depends on what you want to do next." ”

"Xia Guan just wants to tell a story to the old lady."

Liu Zhenglong's attitude is respectful, but his tone is unquestionable, he is not discussing with the other party at all, but accurately expressing one thing, implying that the other party has a bottom line, is here to negotiate, not to surrender.

"The story is interesting, no one has told the old man a story for many years."

Liu Zhenglong said unhurriedly: "A long time ago, there was a family that was a royal imperial physician for generations, and this generation had a bad son named Guo Er, although he was still a imperial doctor, but he had never cured anyone of a disease. In the Tai Hospital, it was almost ignored, but suddenly one day the emperor had a strange disease, not only was the Tai Hospital's doctor helpless, but even the emperor list could not find a doctor who could cure the emperor. Guo Er knew that there was a bed bug in his hometown that could cure the emperor's disease, but he didn't dare to say it, for fear of being misunderstood. But seeing that the emperor was getting worse day by day and his life was dying, Guo Er had no choice but to tell the matter. Dead horses as live horse doctors, and finally the imperial court sent people to Guo Er's hometown, but the bedbugs had already been bought by a Liu San, so the imperial court bought all the bedbugs from Liu San at a high price, and finally the emperor was cured, Guo Er got a large reward, resigned and did not do it, and fled away from home. ”

Cai Jing shook his head, he has gone through a lot of wind and waves in his life, and he really has no interest in such a story.

Liu Zhenglong seemed to guess that Cai Jing was not interested, so he said: "There is also a version of this story, Liu San, this guy knows that this kind of bed bug can detoxify a poison, so he told Guo Er about it, and at the same time bought 100,000 bed bugs for a penny." Guo Er tried to poison the emperor, and finally saved the emperor's life, and the court bought all the bedbugs at the usual price of one piece. Liu San earned nearly 100,000 yuan, while Guo Er received a huge bounty, and both of them eventually became rich men. ”

"Interesting, Lao Yu understands what you mean, I don't know, do you want to be Liu San or Guo Er?"

Cai Jing is interested, he knows what Liu Zhenglong wants to express, and he also knows what the other party wants, what this guy wants and what he wants do not conflict, they complement each other, it seems that this young man is destined to cooperate here, not to defect.

When the old fox meets the little fox, there is no need for the two to cheat each other in circles, be honest and be good to everyone.

Liu Zhenglong said with a smile: "It's all up to the Taishi to choose, I can do anything." ”

"Okay, let's talk about this game, how are you going to play it!" Now that it's time for a showdown, there's no need to go around in circles, at least Cai Jingbu is ready to go around in circles.

It's a good thing to open the skylight and say something, it's a game between smart people.

Liu Zhenglong said unhurriedly: "The old lady is already a minister, up and down, his power has reached its peak, of course, it is impossible to continue to be brilliant." But the old lady's family has a great cause, in the future, will your children and grandchildren still have the ability to rise and fall? The answer is no, whether it is the crown prince or King Yun which one finally wins, it will be a catastrophe for the Cai family, once the son of heaven and a courtier, the prince is a mean and ungrateful person, he inherits the unification, then he will definitely be more partial to Zheng Juzhong, the two of you have long been incompatible. As for King Yun, you admired the crown prince before, do you think King Yun will continue to use the Cai family? ”

"Do you want the old man to bet on King Kang Zhao Gou?"

"No, no one is betting on it, but let them come to you, no matter who ends up getting to that point, they need to rely on the old lady to stabilize the situation, so the Three Kingdoms Kill is the most beneficial for you."

Cai Jing shook his head, he said weakly: "The crown prince occupies the righteousness, it is orthodox, King Yun has won the sacred heart, it can be said that he is on par, and King Kang Zhao Gou can't talk about anything, how can he catch up?" ”

"Everything in the world has variables, without Zhou Shizong Chai Rong died young, how could Taizu be added to the yellow robe, if Emperor Renzong has an heir, how can Yingzong ascend the throne, Zhezong has no children to achieve today's son. Variables, with variables, everything is possible. The Northern Expedition is a foregone conclusion, not because of the operation of the meritorious family, but because the official family is dictatorial and the cadres are arbitrary. Even if the civilian-official group fought with the meritorious family, the Northern Expedition was still unstoppable. I have already unloaded the defense envoy of the Western Front and served as the transit envoy of the Hebei Road, and the expedition of the cardinal minister is a foregone conclusion, why do you need to fight to the death with the cardinal minister? ”

The night conversation between the official family and Liu Zhenglong was very confidential, and no one knew about it, and no one knew the specific content. Cai Jing is also a little impatient, there is no problem against the meritorious family, but it has to fight against the dragon scales and the official family, and it makes sense to fight with Tong Guan to the death?

Seeing that Cai Jing was in the game, Liu Zhenglong was not in a hurry, he said unhurriedly: "No matter what the result of the Northern Expedition is, one thing is certain, that is, the Great Song Dynasty will be involved in an unprecedented national war. Regardless of whether the enemy is the Liao State or the Jin State, once the war starts, the meritorious family will raise its head, then the sense of crisis of the official family will arise, at this time, whether it is the crown prince or the king of Yun, whoever is close to the meritorious family will be suppressed. The battle between the two will be white-hot, and if the two tigers fight, there will be an injury, and King Kang will rise with the trend. Let Tong Guan, the meritorious family and the civil official group kill each other, your old lady only needs to stand on the highest place and stand on the top of the mountain to watch the tiger fight. The mission of the official family should also come to an end, and the new emperor must suppress the meritorious family and the civil official group when he ascends the throne, and only your old man can stabilize the situation at this time. ”

"And what do you get?"

"I'm different from the old lady, you are that Liu San, you only need to stand in the distance and watch the battle, you can get your own part, and I am Guo Er is destined to stand in the game, left and right, for the civil official group, I am a civilian official, I can also be in charge of the army, destined to be the object of their wooing, the meritorious family gave it to me, they can also give, the meritorious family can't give it, they can give it. For the meritorious family, I am the son-in-law of the Pan family, that is, I am on the same warship as the meritorious family, I am a civil official, but I help them do a lot, and they can't do it. The confrontation between the two groups needs me, and my ultimate goal is to worship the prime minister. ”

At this point, there is no need to say any more, Cai Jing waved his hand and said: "You go, what to do, we will do it, wait and see what happens, I believe you will do better." ”。

Don't dare to say anything else, look at people, Cai Jing is still ruthless, he said when Liu Zhenglong walked to the door, I am a minister in my life, I don't need you to repay anything, I hope you take care of my descendants.

"I can't forget it." Liu Zhenglong understands what Cai Jing wants to do, this is a quid pro quo, he has no way to choose, and he can only do this, he will really be inseparable from this old lady in many things in the future, otherwise many things will be unjustifiable.