Shi Heng saw that Cao Jixiang was really already in his chest, and his heart finally let go.

"Hey!" He took a sip of tea and said, "I knew that Gonggong Cao had already made a plan, so I wouldn't have to travel thousands of miles to come back." ”

Cao Jixiang said: "The emperor has always valued Lord Shi, and Lord Shi is now rushing back, saying good things in front of the emperor with our family, and crying to the emperor together, I believe that the effect must be greater, Xu Youzhen has no escape this time." ”

Shi Heng also nodded repeatedly, and the two looked at each other and laughed.

Cao Jixiang said from the side again: "Li Xian is still a good person, he is quite righteous, after knowing this matter, I will notify you as soon as possible." ”

"Indeed, although Li Xian is in Cao Ying, his heart is in Han, and he was forced to follow Xu Youzhen, but in fact, his heart is still towards us. No matter what happens to Xu Youzhen, he will notify us as soon as possible. Last time, my son was also rescued by Master Lee Hyun, so I have always respected him. ”

Cao Jixiang is not, Cao Jixiang has also received Li Xian's favor many times, and he admires Li Xian very much in his heart, he said: "Li Xian is a rare person, our family thinks that there are not many people who fall in love, and Li Xian is one of them." ”

Shi Heng then said: "Last time I appointed Li Xian to be a scholar, but he refused to take over, it can be seen that this person is not good at fame and wealth, and only values friends, such a person is worth befriending." I'm afraid that after we bite Xu Youzhen back this time, it will affect Lord Li Xian, what do you say? ”

After hearing what Shi Heng said, Gonggong Cao said: "This is nothing, since Li Xian is willing to inform Lord Shi to come back from the border pass, and is willing to do his best for our affairs, how can we not repay the favor." Don't worry, my second brother is the most important Sun Xiangyong around the emperor, I believe that as long as he asks him to say a few good words for Li Xian in front of the emperor, the emperor will definitely not punish Li Xian much. ”

"Okay, that's a good idea. I didn't expect to see him for a few days, and Sun Xiangyong, the big celebrity next to the emperor, turned out to be the second brother of Gonggong Cao, Gonggong Cao, you really have a way. Shi Heng gave Cao Jixiang a thumbs up as he spoke.

Cao Jixiang said with some emotion: "The two of us have been separated for many years, and now we can get together, which can be regarded as a beautiful thing, and my second brother can help me." ”

Shi Heng took the opportunity to praise Sun Xiangyong.

Cao Jixiang said to Shi Heng: "Now that the matter of the complaint is a certainty, it cannot be changed. In the face of such changes, we can only block the troops and cover the ground. ”

Shi Heng asked, "What is the clever plan of Grandpa Cao?" ”

Cao Jixiang laughed treacherously and said, "There is a clever plan, you come here with your ears and let me tell you." But only after you enter the palace tomorrow, do one thing with me, and keep you and me safe tomorrow. ”

Shi Heng saw Cao Jixiang's calmness, and he was very serious, as if he had already made up his mind, and he was busy with his ears.

So, Cao Jixiang said this to Shi Heng.

After Shi Heng heard this, he immediately gave a thumbs up and said again and again: "It's really a good way." ”

On the second day, above the court, Zhang Peng really handed Zhu Qizhen a chapter. The content of the recital Zhu Qizhen was not announced in the court, but Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng already knew it.

The eunuch Sun Xiang shouted on the side: "Ministers, there is something to start, and there is nothing to retreat from." ”

Zhu Qizhen saw that the ministers had nothing to do, so he retreated to the palace.

As soon as Zhu Qizhen retreated from the dynasty and returned to the Qianqing Palace, he heard Sun Xiangyong come in and say, "Your Majesty, Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng are asking to see you outside." ”

"Oh?" Zhu Qizhen let out an "oh" and said, "It is expected that Cao Jixiang came to ask for a meeting, why did Shi Heng suddenly appear?" Didn't he fight at the border? ”

Sun Xiang whispered to the side: "Your Majesty, the old slave has never been very clear about the affairs of the court. It's just that since Shi Heng rushed back in such a hurry, something must have happened, and the emperor might as well meet them. ”

Zhu Qizhen originally didn't plan to see Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang. Because he had just seen Zhang Peng's recital, he was angry with the two of them.

Hearing Sun Xiangyong say this, he said: "Anyway, Shi Heng has been fighting abroad all the year round, and it can be regarded as a high level of hard work. Since Grandpa Sun has said so, let's pass the two of them in. ”

Sun Xiang replied: "Yes." So he went and called Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng in.

Sun Xiang said to Cao Jixiang as he walked: "You should pay more attention to the emperor's tone when you speak after you go in, the emperor is now angry about the two of you." ”

"But you've already received Zhang Peng's recital?" Cao Jixiang asked Sun Xiang Yongdao.

Sun Xiangyong saw that he was about to enter the Qianqing Palace, so he didn't dare to say more, but just signaled with his eyes and told Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng: "The emperor has indeed received Zhang Peng's recital."

Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng had already discussed it yesterday, and they had a plan in their hearts to deal with it, so the two of them were not so nervous.

When they saw the emperor Zhu Qizhen, they knelt down and said: "Long live the emperor, long live, long live, the emperor is blessed with all the heavens." ”

When Zhu Qizhen saw the two, he was angry and didn't let the two get up.

Before Zhu Qizhen could come to his senses, Cao Jixiang glanced at Shi Heng. So, according to the plan they had agreed upon, they fell to the ground and wept bitterly.

"Your Majesty, the two of us are here to plead with you." Cao Jixiang was the first to speak.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Shi Heng returned to the palace thousands of miles away, hoping to come to the emperor in person to plead guilty. Your Majesty, you should still punish the two of us for their crimes. ”

Indeed, after Zhu Qizhen received Zhang Peng's fold, he was very angry about what the two of them did, but he didn't expect these two people to be corrupt and bribe, bend the law for bribes, and do so many things that are not tolerated.

But what Zhu Qizhen didn't expect was that these two people entered the palace to cry and plead guilty, which was really unpredictable for him.

Seeing the two people in front of him crying bitterly, Zhu Qizhen suddenly became at a loss, so he pretended not to know anything, and just asked what happened to the two of them.

Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng just said that they were guilty, they just cried bitterly, and said nothing else.

Zhu Qizhen became a little annoyed, and said, "You two came to see me, do you just want to tell me that you two are guilty?" Since the two of you are guilty, I will hand you over to Dali Temple for punishment, and you don't have to act here in a cozy manner. ”

"Your Majesty!" Cao Jixiang said very sadly: "The two of us are not coy, but sincerely repentant. “

The old slave knew that the old slave had done a lot of things that made the emperor feel ashamed, and the old slave also regretted it in his heart. But there are some things, please don't be deceived by others. A lot of things weren't done by me and Lord Seok Hyung-seok. I take care of the affairs of the inner palace all the year round, and Lord Shi is running around all the year round, where can I care about doing so many things. ”

When Zhu Qizhen heard Cao Jixiang say this, he was a little enlightened, and Cao Jixiang still had some truth in what he said.

Cao Jixiang runs around in the inner palace all the year round, and Shi Heng fights outside with soldiers all the year round. Zhang Peng's impeachment of the two people, even if it is true, may only be a small half of the two people.

As for the rest, perhaps it is their subordinates who are tyrannical and unscrupulous in their name. The so-called tree is like this.

Thinking of this, Zhu Qizhen's tone couldn't help but soften a lot. He threw down Zhang Peng's recital, threw it in front of the two, and said, "You two look at the recital of the courtiers impeaching you." Some things are not done by the two of you yourself, but because you are not strict with your subordinates and connived at their misdeeds, so that so many things have happened. Do you still remember Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu during the Taizu period? ”

When Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng heard Zhu Qizhen say this, they immediately trembled with fright.

Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu were also in power in the court at that time, and they connived at their subordinates to behave indiscriminately and had no royal law, and the Lan Yu case was in a commotion, and in the end, Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu failed to get a good end.

The emperor suddenly mentioned Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu in the Taizu period, is it implying something?

Cao Jixiang only felt a chill down his spine, he raised his head and asked: "Your Majesty, what Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu did, the old slave is familiar with history books and knows it completely. The old slave will never dare to do such a lawless thing as they do, the old slave is not strict with his subordinates, and he will be severely punished after he goes back, and he will ask the emperor to forgive him. ”

Shi Heng also said on the side: "The so-called generals are outside, and the king's orders are not subject to it. Shi Heng just serves the country wholeheartedly and shares worries for the emperor, but he doesn't dare to think about anything else, let alone do anything that is sorry for the country and the emperor. ”

Zhu Qizhen saw that the two of them showed their loyalty, and he couldn't help but eliminate his anger towards the two of them. He said to the two: "In this case, you two should go back and reflect on it, and you must also control and restrain your subordinates and subordinates, so as not to let them do this kind of thing that is criticized and attracts people's handles." ”

"Yes." Cao Jixiang was very sad. After reading the recital, he said to Zhu Qizhen: "Your Majesty, do you know the relationship between this Zhang Peng and the old slave? ”

Zhu Qizhen was slightly surprised and asked, "Does this Zhang Peng have anything to do with you?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, this imperial history Zhang Peng is a distant relative of the old slave. The reason why he participated in the old slave and Lord Shi Hengshi was completely instructed by others, and he wanted to kill the two of us. The two of us had no choice but to come to the emperor to suffer, so we had to ask the emperor to make the decision for me. ”

"Now just a royal history dares to impeach the two of us in front of the emperor, fabricating a lot of facts out of nothing. In this way, the people in the court, who will still take the two of us in their eyes. Shi Heng was filled with righteous indignation.

Zhu Qizhen didn't have much reaction when he heard it, after all, this was a contradiction between ministers, and it had nothing to do with him, so he behaved very plainly. What's more, there are contradictions between the ministers, which is not a good thing for the emperor.

The so-called checks and balances of power, to let the ministers contain each other, the emperor can finally benefit, this has always been Zhu Qizhen's mastery.

However, Shi Heng continued to say a word, but it was like a thunderbolt exploding above Zhu Qizhen's head.

Shi Heng's words are like this, he said: "How dare the emperor do this? Now the cabinet can't tolerate us! ”

Shi Heng's words immediately touched Zhu Qizhen's mind.

Zhu Qizhen was originally dissatisfied with Xu Youzhen, first Xu Youzhen privately leaked the conversation between him and Xu Youzhen to outsiders, so that everyone in the government and the opposition knew about it, and even Cao Jixiang knew about it, and came to tell him.

Immediately afterwards, Xu Youzhen did a big rebellious thing, not only oppressing the small people, robbing other people's land, and building his own ancestral tomb. What's even worse is that the land was originally used by the emperor to plan to build Jingwang Temple, and he even grabbed the emperor's land, so what else can't be done.

It is no wonder that Zhu Qizhen hates him in his heart, and now a dictatorship has touched the most sensitive nerve in Zhu Qizhen's heart, "dictatorship".

Zhu Qizhen is a very generous and good emperor, and he is also an emperor who is very conniving with his subordinates.

But Shi Heng's words undoubtedly hit Zhu Qizhen's death hole, for the emperor, the minister dared to dictate power in front of him, not to mention that person was his favorite minister, even if it was the king of heaven, Lao Tzu did not have to discuss.

Just when Zhu Qizhen was still hesitating, Shi Heng had already added oil and vinegar to the side, Shi Heng said: "Your Majesty, do you know that this Zhang Peng Zhang Yushi was originally a distant nephew of Lord Cao, and Lord Xu Youzhen Xu In order to impeach Zhang Peng and my father-in-law Cao, he deliberately promoted Zhang Peng from a small five-rank official to the imperial history, and also let him enter the cabinet. What is such a cabinet chief and assistant if it is not an autocracy? ”

Shi Heng said the word autocracy one after another, and finally made Zhu Qizhen make up his mind.

He decided to give Xu Youzhen a little color this time no matter what, after all, he Zhu Qizhen is the ruler of the Ming Dynasty, and he Zhu Qizhen is the only emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

It was his younger brother Zhu Qiyu who became the emperor and robbed him of the throne, and Zhu Qiyu's final outcome was to die of anger. Even biological brothers can't be tolerated, and a mere minister in front of the throne is nothing.

Zhu Qizhen has never made up his mind to deal with Xu Youzhen because he has always missed his old feelings. Now Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng both say that he is autocratic, not to mention the ministers in the court and the people of the world, maybe the people of the world have been talking about it for a long time, and they don't take him as the emperor in their eyes.

Zhu Qizhen decided to do it, he wanted to use practical actions to prove to all people that he Zhu Qizhen was a good emperor with majesty and prestige.

Early the next morning, above the court, the courtiers were arguing fiercely.

The first to speak was Xu Youzhen, at this time Xu Youzhen still didn't know whether he was alive or dead, he said to Zhu Qizhen a little arrogantly: "Your Majesty, I heard that yesterday Zhang Peng Yushi impeached Cao Jixiang Cao Gonggong and Shi Heng Shi, Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng did a lot of rebellious things, doesn't the emperor plan to punish them?" ”

Zhu Qizhen heard that Xu Youzhen's words were more or less threatening, and the hatred for Xu Youzhen in his heart deepened a little, and the old feelings that he missed him before also decreased a little.

Despite this, he still said painlessly: "Zhang Peng's participation in Gonggong Cao and General Shi has not been thoroughly investigated, so let's wait for a thorough investigation." ”

At this time, Xu Youzhen had completely forgotten his identity, he only wanted to kill Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng, and defeat these two of his enemies, where did he think so much.

He took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, you can't do this, how can you condone Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng?" These two people connived at their subordinates to do all kinds of evil and do everything, and the people of the world have hated their evil deeds. If the emperor doesn't punish them today, not to say that he is not to the ministers, but to the people of the world, is the emperor willing to be a dumb monarch who does nothing? ”

As soon as Xu Youzhen's words "faint" came out, he realized that he had made a big mistake.

The monarchs of all dynasties were most taboo to be called "faint monarch", but Xu Youzhen dared to confront him in front of Zhu Qizhen, saying that he was a faint monarch, so how could he not be shocked in his heart.

Xu Youzhen felt regretful, and hurriedly said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the old minister was excited just now, and he just wanted to eliminate traitors for the country, and he didn't say anything, and asked the emperor not to take it to heart." ”

Zhu Qizhen secretly said in his heart: Xu Youzhen, Xu Youzhen, I originally wanted to give you a chance, but I didn't expect you to be so ruthless. Do you think this court belongs to your family, you can do whatever you want.

Speaking of this, Zhu Qizhen glared at Xu Youzhen viciously, and said angrily: "Lord Xu, don't say anything." Someone came and imprisoned Zhang Peng, the imperial historian, and Yang Xuan, who had been in the book before. ”

"What? Imprisoned Zhang Peng and Yang Xuan? After the emperor wrote a book last time, didn't you reward him, and now he is imprisoned again, doesn't it make the world laugh at the emperor's rebellion. ”

Zhu Qizhen's face was blue and white for a while, and he was very uncalm in the face of Xu Youzhen's snatching of white

He said to Xu Youzhen hatefully: "Lord Xu, do I have to get your consent to detain two people?" Do you think that if you are the head of the cabinet, you can be autocratic and unscrupulous? I arrested Zhang Peng and Yang Xuan just to find out who instructed them to do the evil act of attacking the minister. If it is found out that someone really instigated it, not only the two of them, but also the people behind the instigation will definitely be severely punished. ”

After speaking, Zhu Qizhen glanced coldly at the silent ministers and said, "Retreat." After saying that, he walked back to the inner palace.

Sun Xiangyong hurriedly followed.

Xu Youzhen was simply burning at this time, he didn't expect that this time the book was obviously planned to be very successful, why did something suddenly happen? Last time, he also wrote a book, and the emperor not only punished Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng, but also praised Yang Xuan, why did everything become like this this time?

At this moment, he was simply confused, he knew that if the emperor really investigated this matter thoroughly and found out that the instigator behind Zhang Peng and Yang Xuan was himself, the emperor would definitely not be able to spare himself at that time. Thinking of this, he decided to ask Sun Xiangyong for help.

Xu Youzhen quickly found Sun Xiangyong, and Sun Xiangyong quietly came out to see him.

As soon as Xu Youzhen saw Sun Xiangyong, he knelt and bowed again, and said repeatedly: "Grandpa Sun, please help me this time, no matter what." ”

Sun Xiangyong witnessed what happened in the court, he glanced at Xu Youzhen, and said deeply: "Lord Xu came to ask our family because of what happened in the court this morning?" ”