That's the end of the cabinet meeting?!

Wang Bingjian and Mao Bijiang looked at Fang Yuan hesitantly, but still obeyed the order and walked out of the chamber. After the two left, only Fang Yuan, Xi Benzhen, and Gao Hongtu were left in the conference hall, as well as Hu Qi and Jinyiwei, who were guarding.

Xi Benzhen and Gao Hongtu glanced at each other, and they didn't know what Fang Yuan wanted to do when he left the two alone.

Fang Yuan took a sip of tea calmly, looked around the two of them, first stared at Gao Hongtu and said, "Gao Shangshu, you used to be in the Nanjing Imperial Court, what kind of official position are you?" ”

He asked knowingly, Gao Hongtu couldn't figure out his thoughts, and replied with a dodgy gaze, "Li, the Ministry of Rites." ”

Fang Yuan asked, "When serving the Beijing Imperial Court, does Gao Shangshu have any chance to enter the cabinet?" Can you participate in military and political affairs? ”

Although Nanjing is also the institutional setting of the Six Ministries, it is actually the nursing home of the Beijing Imperial Court. Although Gao Hongtu is also a scholar of the Ministry of Rites, he has no real power, so he shook his head and said, "No!" ”

Fang Yuan suddenly reprimanded angrily, "I reused you to enter the cabinet and make you a high and powerful position, but you used conspiracy to collude and incite the Western Expedition to return?" Repaying virtue with resentment, did you go to the belly of the sage reading the dog? ”

He suddenly scolded and burst out foul language, and even pointed at Gao Hongtu for plotting and inciting behind his back, Gao Hongtu was in a hurry, his face was so shocked that his face was bloodless, and he was almost unstable, and said hesitantly, "I, no, no." ”

Fang Yuan ordered Hu Qi to hand over a confession, and the confession was that within ten days, Hou Fangyu confessed to the list of accomplices in Jinyiwei Imperial Prison and threw it directly in front of Gao Hongtu, "A month ago, that is, three days before the military meeting, Hou Fangyu personally went to Shangshu Mansion on behalf of his father Hou Sui and conspired with you for three hours. You agreed to incite the Western Expedition at a military conference. Hou Fangyu also gave you conditions for the imperial court in the capital, if you can incite the Xuanjia army to march westward, you will be exempted from all your mistakes. Gao Shangshu, you forgot so quickly?! ”

Gao Hongtu trembled and picked up Hou Fangyu's confession, which was full of the names of the people who participated in the conspiracy and incitement of Hou Fangyu's confession, there were at least five or six people, and his Gao Hongtu's name was impressively listed, and he even remembered the time of the meeting and the content of the conversation clearly.

With Hou Fangyu's confession, Gao Hongtu had no way to deny it, knowing that he had been found out by Fang Yuan, this time he was sure to die, and sat on the ground dejectedly, "Regent, I confess my guilt, but the crime lies with the criminal minister, and the disaster is not for his wife and children." ”

I didn't expect this Gao Hongtu to confess his guilt was quite refreshing, Fang Yuan said with a sneer, "Okay, since Gao Shangshu is refreshing, I am also happy, since Gao Shangshu is the person of the Prince of the Prison State, I will send you back to the Prince of the Prison State." Come! Bring Gao Shangshu back to Nanjing City and hand it over to the prince of Jianguo. ”

After Jin Yiwei took down Gao Hongtu, Fang Yuan didn't forget to add, "After Jin Yiwei and the prince of the prison country punished Gao Shangshu, he will come back to report." ”

Gao Hongtu was taken away by Jinyiwei, and only Fang Yuan and Xi Benzhen were left in the lobby.

Xi Benzhen's gaze fell on Hou Fangyu's confession, and seeing that there were only the names of Gao Hongtu and Mao Bijiang on it, and there was no name of his own, he looked at Fang Yuandao fearlessly, "The regent thinks that I am also the same as Gao Shangshu, a person who colluded and conspired?!" ”

Fang Yuan smiled and asked, "Could it be that the head of the Xi family thinks that I have wronged you?!" ”

Xi Benzhen smiled and said, "Hou Fangyu's confession doesn't seem to have me, but the confession of Mao Bijiang. Isn't it unjust that the regent didn't come to arrest me? ”

Fang Yuan laughed and said, "What kind of pickled thing is Hou Fangyu?" Who am I arresting, and I still need to follow his confession?! He confessed to the frontier, but not to you. But I think that he is climbing and biting indiscriminately, and he is unjustly trying to open up the frontier, but he is here to cover you. ”

Xi Benzhen was stunned, and then said with a smile, "Why did the regent say this?" I'd love to hear about it! ”

Fang Yuan said unhurriedly, "Hou Fangyu is very conceited, he thinks he is smart, he confesses half-truths and half-truths, and wants to play me like a fool!" There are two people in the cabinet who participated in the conspiracy, and with Gao Hongtu's identity, he can't get rid of suspicion, so Gao Hongtu can't escape, so Hou Fangyu directly recruited him. ”

"And the other person, naturally, is the most suspicious of being a good friend with Hou Fangyu. Hou Fangyu also calculated that I would suspect Mao Bijiang, but not you, so he chose to confess Mao Bijiang and hide it from you. ”

"That's a great plan to kill two birds with one stone! Not only can he eradicate the Mao Bijiang who he thinks has betrayed the Restoration Society and colluded with the government, but it can also hide your identity for you, a real insider, and plant a time bomb. ”

Xi Benzhen's eyes flashed, and he said slowly, "Since Hou Fangyu didn't confess, how could the regent conclude that it was me?!" ”

Fang Yuan got up slowly, walked slowly in front of him, and looked at him at hand, "Master Xi, this cabinet meeting is my plan to arrest the traitor." I deliberately arrested Hou Fangyu in secret, and postponed the cabinet meeting for ten days, just waiting for the real traitor to be exposed! ”

"If it is really a traitor, at this critical juncture, he must have private contact with Hou Fangyu at any time. Hou Fangyu has been missing for ten days, and the traitor can't contact Hou Fangyu, so he will definitely be vigilant, thinking that Hou Fangyu has been caught. Now that Hou Fangyu has been caught, it proves that I have suspected that you are plotting behind the scenes. Whether Hou Fangyu will confess or not is not a traitor. The only thing the traitor can do is to dissociate himself from the plot to incite the Western Expedition, so as not to arouse my suspicion again. ”

"So! At the cabinet meeting, those who still firmly supported the proposal of the Western Expedition were not traitors; And the person whose opinion has changed from before, and even begins to dodge, is a mole! Wang Ge Lao, you can be excluded from the territory, and the traitor is you and Gao Hongtu! ”

"Master Xi, you and Hou Fangyu are smart but mistaken by cleverness!"

Xi Benzhen looked at him silently, neither affirming nor denying, but asked calmly, "Speculation can't be used as a basis for judgment!" Does the regent have any real evidence?! ”

Fang Yuan's hand was on his shoulder, and he said coldly, "Of course there is!" Master Xi, I once ordered you to go to Liaodong to inquire about the news, what about the news you inquired about? ”

Xi Benzhen was stunned and said, "The merchants who went to Liaodong haven't come back yet. ”

Fang Yuan's hand strained slightly, and said in a deep voice, "Master Xi, the merchant who went to Liaodong is Xu Qi of the Liaodong Branch of the Dongting Merchant Gang, and he came back five days ago. Don't ask me where I got the news, I want to find out the news of the Dongting Merchant Gang, as well as Shen Gongzi and them, you can't hide it from me! ”

He saw that Xi Benzhen's face was becoming more and more panicked, and continued, "The spies returned five days ago and brought back important information, why didn't the head of the Xi family come to report to me for a long time? The only explanation is that the head of the Xi family wants to hide the information brought back by the spies! ”

"Master Xi, do you still want to deny it now? Do you want me to order Jinyiwei to bring Xu Qi to confront him face-to-face, did he inform you five days ago that the Manchu Qing in Liaodong had no intention of invading the Ming Dynasty?! ”

Xi Benzhen sighed deeply, even if he didn't talk about whether he conspired with Hou Fangyu, he should be guilty of hiding such an important northern military situation from Xi Benzhen.

He and Fang Yuan's eyes intersected, and he said lightly, "Yes, Regent, I confess!" I am the one who conspired with Hou Fangyu and Gao Hongtu to incite the Western Expedition! Now that the regent has found out the truth, he should kill him! ”

Fang Yuan didn't dare to believe that the traitor in the cabinet was Xi Benzhen, who had always been the most trusted, and when he heard his confession, his heart was also painful, and his face was not full of joy to find the traitor, but was full of pain, took a few steps back dejectedly, and sat back on the king's chair.