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Hurriedly returning home, Cao Yin informed the Jing brothers of the good news, and the four Jing were also happy. The five masters and apprentices gathered at night, had a long talk, and happily discussed the plan of practicing the law, just waiting for the emperor's order to leave the palace, and then they could show their economy.

Cao Yin thought that he would succeed this time, and while he was overjoyed, he suddenly thought of his mother, so he sent two flags to comfort the stars and rushed to Huangmei County to welcome his mother into Beijing. Cao Yin secretly vowed that this time he must let his mother spend her old age in the capital and never let her old man suffer again.

The news of the emperor's reuse of Cao Yin's law spread far and wide, and there were many discussions in the court, inside and outside the capital, some appreciated and looked forward to it, and some were anxious and frightened, especially when they heard that Cao Yin wanted to give the people the right to violate the law, the people were jubilant, and the court was in an uproar. A group of Ziwenchen generals jointly played against it, and there were a group of honest and honest ministers, far-sighted people, who knew that the great future was like a seriously ill person who needed to be treated with fierce medicine, and they also wrote a letter to support Cao Yin.

Above the court, the ministers argued. Between the fields, Qianshou discussed the law. Inside and outside the Beijing Division, there was a disturbance for a while.

Emperor Chongzhen was dedicated to being strong and conscientious, but he was hesitant and did not believe in foreign ministers. Seeing that the courtiers had different opinions, they couldn't make up their minds for a while, so they summoned the ministers twice to discuss the implementation of the law, and most of the ministers objected, making Emperor Chongzhen hesitate. Later, the border pass was urgent, the Manchu Dynasty was pressing, the Central Plains was in danger, and the eight directions were killing and killing, and the poor Chongzhen Emperor was at a loss for internal and external troubles.

Emperor Chongzhen was busy dealing with the military commissions presented from all over the world, and had to temporarily abandon his promise to Cao Yin.

Cao Yin waited for more than a month, and when he heard that many ministers opposed his practice, he couldn't help but feel anxious. After dinner that day, Cao Yin was depressed and invited Jing Kui to play chess, and the master and apprentice had just finished a game, and Jing Si came to report: "Lord Wu, the head of the household department, came to see." Cao Yin hurriedly said: "Please." Then he took Jing Kui and Jing Si to greet Wu Lu. After greeting each other and taking their seats, Cao Yin said: "When adults visit, there must be advice." Wu Lu said: "Regarding the matter of you practicing the Fa, there are quite a few rumors outside, Lord Cao must have heard it, right?" Cao Yin said: "Yes, there are not a few opponents. Wu Lu said: "Recently, the military situation is urgent, and the emperor has no time to take care of this matter, and there are many opponents, so he has not made a final decision." Today, the official met with the emperor and tried to show the benefits of the law, and the emperor reluctantly agreed to discuss the matter on the 22nd of this month. Although you have been restored to your official position, your grade is not high, and you cannot go to the court according to the regulations, but the emperor has authorized you to participate and asked the ministers of the Manchu dynasty to comment on your proposals. Cao Yin was surprised and delighted, and got up to salute: "Thank you, Lord Wu." ”

Wu Lu waved his hand, signaling that he didn't need to say thank you, and admonished: "Lord Cao, this public court meeting, with the exception of you, the six-rank official, should be your last chance, in case you can't convince the emperor to ......."

Cao Yin said with a solemn expression: "Yes, if you can't convince the ministers this time, the matter of practicing the law will be in vain again, do you have a good plan?" ”

Wu Lu said: "Actually, in the past month or so, the emperor has also held two court meetings on whether to enable you to come to Beijing to practice the law, the first court meeting, and there are many opponents, including Lord Li of the Ministry of Rites, Lord Yang of the Ministry of War, Lord Yan of the Ministry of War, Lord Xu of the Ministry of Punishment, Mao Yujian of the Imperial History, Lord Hong of the Ministry of War, Lord Xun of the Ministry of Works, King Qin of Zongren Mansion and many eunuchs and ministers. Although there are many opponents, there are also many supporters, and they are generally equal, and the emperor hesitates. However, in the second court meeting later, the number of supporters decreased sharply, but the opposition increased significantly, and even the governors, governors, kings, dukes, and candidates of the provinces expressed their opposition one after another, and even the local county decrees also submitted documents to criticize the new law. The situation is not good. ”

Cao Yin's expression was serious, slightly angry, and he patted the table and said: "These people are all people who mislead the country and the people, and they are blinded by the eyes of the rats. ”

Wu Lu shook his head with a smile and said: "Lord Cao, it is true that these people have misled the country and the people, but they are not blind. ”

Cao Yin said: "Why did Lord Shangshu say this? ”

Wu Lu said with a smile: "They oppose you, and they keep saying that your set of practices violates the ancestral system, but in fact, they may not all be in their hearts. ”

Cao Yin was taken aback and arched his hand: "My lord's teaching." ”

Wu Lu said: "Interests, your set touches the interests of many people, and it is inconvenient for them to explain it in front of the emperor, so they have to oppose it with the high-sounding excuse of violating the ancestral system." ”

Cao Yin nodded and said: "What your lord said is very true, in the Manchu Dynasty, only Lord Shangshu is my Cao Yin's bosom friend, Lord Shangshu must help me." ”

Wu Lu sighed and said: "This discussion is to be the enemy of the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military, if it is not successful, how will it gain a foothold in the court in the future?" The so-called person who knows the times is Junjie, since this matter cannot be done, it is better for adults to ......" Wu Lu seemed to be unable to bear to explain his words, and stopped halfway through.

Cao Yin was shocked: "Lord Shangshu is also going to abandon me?" ”

Wu Lu shook his head and sighed: "This is not what I want!" ”

Cao Yin was silent, although his face was expressionless, he was extremely sad in his heart, and he couldn't imagine that Lord Wu, who had always supported him, couldn't withstand the pressure and chose to go with the flow.

Wu Lu peeked at Cao Yin from time to time to look at his color, and said after a long time: "Lord Cao must think that I, Wu Lu, am also a villain in the game officialdom, alas, Wu Lu is old and young, ashamed!" ”

Cao Yin said slowly: "Lord Shangshu must not blame himself, Cao Yin understands the difficulties of adults. However, Cao Yin is determined to be righteous in the world, if he can't share the worries of the Son of Heaven and seek benefits for the people, even if he is in the court, he is like a walking corpse, and Cao Yin will not take it. ”

Wu Lu's face was full of shame, and he got up and saluted: "Wu Lu said goodbye." ”

Cao Yin also got up and saluted: "Slow down, adult." ”

Wu Lu stood still after walking to the door of the lobby, turned around and smiled: "Lord Cao is really brave and loyal, I have a plan, I don't know if Lord Cao is willing to adopt it?" ”

Cao Yinzheng was disheartened, and suddenly heard Wu Lu's words, and said happily: "Please show me." ”

Wu Lu returned to his original position and sat down, his expression became serious, and he lightly touched the table with his index finger, and said word by word: "Capture the thief and capture the king first." ”

Cao Yin was puzzled, with a puzzled face, and asked, "What is the first to capture the thief and capture the king?" ”

Wu Lu said: "Who is the leader of the people who oppose the reform of the law? ”

Cao Yin said: "Of course, it is Yang Sichang, the secretary of the Ministry of War." ”

Wu Lu said: "No, Yang Sichang is a martial artist, although he is opposed, it is not enough to suffer, and he has recently failed to suppress thieves, and it is difficult for the mud bodhisattva to cross the river himself, how can he have the leisure to take care of this matter?" The real leader is Li Banghua, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, this person can speak well and is quite good at demagoguery, as long as he can shut up this person, he may have a chance of winning. ”

Cao Yin said: "How to shut him up? ”

Wu Lu said: "Li Banghua is from Changzhou, and his nephew Li Rui is a big family in Changzhou, with 3,300 acres of fertile land, but only 850 acres of actual tax declarations. As long as he went to Changzhou to find a few people and asked them to come to the capital to complain, Lord Cao accepted the complaint, and when the court was discussed, he submitted the complaint to the emperor, accusing Li Banghua of opposing the reform of the law and trying to shield his nephew, which would surely make him speechless. ”

Jing Ying and Jing Fei came in from outside the door, and happened to hear this, and clapped their hands: "Good plan." ”

Cao Yin shook his head again and again when he heard this, and said: "It's not appropriate, it's not appropriate, those who are officials should be upright and abide by the law, and it is a felony to appeal at a higher level. ”

Wu Lu was so anxious that he stomped his feet and persuaded: "Lord Cao, you should be upright and upright as an official, but you also have to have some scheming. To tell the truth, since the first time the court discussed the new law, this official has secretly sent people to investigate those ministers who oppose the new law, and now has the handle of several people. Just now I advised Lord Cao to retreat in the face of difficulties, but it was just to test Lord Cao's mind. ”

Jing Fei persuaded: "My lord, those who achieve great things are not informal, and Lord Wu's plan is feasible." ”

Cao Yin still shook his head and waved his hand and said: "Cao Yin is open-minded, how can he learn from the scheming villain's dirty behavior for this, no, no." ”

Wu Lu said angrily: "Lord Cao, I am thinking about you, but you accuse me of being a villain, or not, even if I didn't say it, I will leave." After saying that, he stood up and brushed his sleeves away.

Cao Yin hurriedly defended: "Misunderstanding ......" Although he wanted to explain, but Wu Lu left in a hurry, Cao Yin was extremely depressed, and said after a long time: "What I did is a righteous act, why do I need to use villain means?" The Son of Heaven is wise, knows my heart, and will be able to allow me to play. ”