The person Tian Mu said was Queen Cheng Wen.

It stands to reason that the reason why Cheng Wen was able to become the queen was largely because Wei Zixuan was secretly helping, so from the perspective of ordinary people, they were allies. When Shangshu's left servant was found to be a traitor and fell overnight, the queen should also be panicked.

However, Cheng Wen has three unusual features that allow her to remain unwavering even when she is at the forefront of the storm.

First of all, it is Cheng Wen's important family background. She is not an ordinary woman without roots, but the daughter of a traditional aristocratic family in the Holy Tang Dynasty, although the power of the Zhenguo Mansion is not as good as that of the previous generation, but after all, the merits and qualifications are all there, and there are countless noble forces behind her, and the vein is powerful and complex.

Therefore, Wei Zixuan can only be regarded as pulling the Cheng family at a critical moment, but there is no problem of the Cheng family attaching himself to the left minister.

Second, whether it is appearance, intelligence, or personality, Cheng Wen has been recognized by the emperor Li Bing, and her grace is growing, and her position in the court is also rapidly consolidating. In other words, as the emperor's wife, as long as there is no clear transgression, she does not have to worry about the ups and downs of the foreign court.

The last point, and the most critical point, Empress Cheng Wen found Ouyang Lin in a very timely manner at the important moment when the forbidden army was about to start a secret investigation of Wei Zixuan, and skillfully and clearly expressed her loyalty to the emperor and support the investigation, and instantly drew a clear line with Wei Zixuan and got out of the situation.

With these three points, Cheng Wen naturally would not be implicated in Wei Zixuan's case, and even became more trusted by the emperor because Ouyang Lin reported the matter to Li Bing in advance.

Tian Mu is also one of the people in the know, so he knows the gist of it, so he will propose to try to follow the queen's path.

Gong Chengze fully agrees with this. This guy was anxious, and even pulled Tian Mu to the Zhenguo Mansion. They didn't have the opportunity to directly contact the queen, so they could only use Cheng Dong's line to stick to Cheng Wen's backer as soon as possible.

Regarding the sudden visit of the Imperial Doctor and the Southern Expedition Inspection and Investigation Envoy, Cheng Dong, the official of Zhenguo, of course, also knew why they came: Wei Zixuan suddenly fell, and the matter involved the rebel spies, how could these two "good brothers" of the left minister not hurry up and clear up the relationship?

If you want to save your official position and life, you must find big people with weight who can speak for them at critical moments.

And his sister is such a big man.

Cheng Dong warmly greeted Tian Mu and Gong Chengze, led them to the living room, and sat down as guests. The next people served this year's new tea and various fruit snacks one after another to entertain the guests.

After some polite greetings, Tian Mu looked at Gong Chengze, Gong Chengze looked at Tian Mu, the two had a very tacit understanding, and at the same time got up and saluted Cheng Dong.

Cheng Dong pretended to be surprised, hurriedly stood up and returned the salute, and knowingly asked the two of them why they were so different.

Tian Mu sighed and said sadly: "Don't hide it from Guogong, our brother is about to be in trouble this time, I implore Guogong to rescue him." ”

Gong Chengze also nodded again and again: "Wei Zixuan is insidious and cunning, harboring evil intentions, but he can make us miserable!" ”

Cheng Dong helped the two of them sit down again, and said in a deep voice: "I have also heard about this matter. Is Wei Zixuan really dead? ”

"Dead, dead." Tian Mu shook his head and said: "On the night that His Majesty ordered the forbidden army to arrest him, before he entered the palace, he committed suicide in the car. Poisonous, it can't be saved. ”

Cheng Dong nodded silently, and suddenly sighed: "Alas, when Li Dadu was protecting the imperial capital, he came to the Imperial Mansion to remind Cheng that Wei Zixuan might have colluded with the Jiangnan rebels, so I don't want to get involved with him." Now it seems that what Dadu Hu said is true. ”

Tian Mu and Gong Chengze were stunned when they heard this.

Gong Chengze couldn't help but be curious: "So, Guogong, you already knew that Wei Zixuan had a problem?" ”

Cheng Dong reacted and hurriedly explained: "Oh, I can't say that I knew it in the morning. At that time, Li Daduhu only suspected Wei Zixuan, but there was no evidence, so Cheng could only be suspicious. Neither dared to report to the emperor, nor could he inform the two brothers. ”

Tian Mu nodded in understanding, and then sighed: "Alas, it is difficult to draw dragons and tigers, and you don't know your heart. After messing around with that traitor for a long time, it's not as clear as an outsider. Guogong, no matter what, you must save us. ”

Cheng Dongying said: "Lord Tian is serious. What can help, although the two of you commanded, Cheng Mou must do his best. ”

Hearing him say this, Gong Chengze couldn't help but be overjoyed, and hurriedly said: "If the prince has this sentence, our brother can be regarded as saved." To tell the truth, the only one who can explain it clearly for us at the moment is the queen. Can you ask the prince to work hard and enter the palace to plead with his mother? ”

Cheng Dong smiled faintly: "General Gong's words are wrong. According to the rules of the Holy Tang Dynasty, the harem has never been allowed to interfere in politics, let alone make friends with the court's foreign ministers. Aren't you afraid that it will backfire to let the queen speak for you? ”

Tian Mu's eyes rolled, and he immediately understood the meaning of Cheng Dong's words, and hurriedly made up for it: "Guogong is right, we are in a hurry." This matter really shouldn't disturb the queen, in fact, it is enough for the prince to come forward. ”

Gong Chengze is also a person who is familiar with officialdom, and hurriedly cooperated: "Yes, yes, yes, I am a big boss, and I am honest." Guogong has won the trust of the emperor, and it is enough for you to say a few kind words for us in front of Your Majesty. ”

To tell the truth, Gong Chengze's sycophant shot was really a bit blunt. Tian Mu is the imperial historian of the third grade, and he is the governor of the third grade, in the court, the two have always been prominent imperial ministers. On the other hand, Cheng Dong only has the title of Duke of Zhenguo, and has no official position.

It is naturally self-evident who on both sides speaks more in front of the emperor.

At present, in order to find a backer to save his life, Gong Chengze closed his eyes and praised Cheng Dong, and the villain's face was undoubtedly revealed.

Cheng Dong looked very free and easy, and waved his hand lightly: "General Gong has won the award." Cheng is not as capable as you say, but I can try to find friends from all walks of life and ask everyone to help. First, the two of them did not know Wei Zixuan's true identity, let alone participated in his conspiracy and harmed Shengtang; Second, Lord Tian and General Gong have always been deeply trusted by His Majesty, and have also made a lot of contributions to the imperial court, so there will definitely be no big trouble. ”

"So very good, so very good," Tian Mu said happily: "Don't hide it from Guogong, in fact, our brother has long wanted to come to visit and listen to Guogong's advice in person." I can only hate Wei Zixuan's traitor, and I am worried that we will get close to Guogong, so that he can no longer carry out the tricks of deception and demagogy, so we have not been allowed to make friends with Guogong. Alas, now that I think about it, if I hadn't listened to him at the beginning, maybe I would have been able to see through that guy's true face earlier. ”

Gong Chengze nodded and said, "That's right." Lao Wei didn't let us deal with Cheng Fu, probably because he was afraid that we would see through him at a glance through Guogong's guidance! ”

Cheng Dong hugged his shoulders for a long time, looking at the two people in front of him talking nonsense, and there was an intriguing expression on his face.

After a while, he interrupted Tian Mu with a smile and said, "Lord Tian and General Gong, everyone understands people, and there is no need to test each other in circles." Dare to ask the two, have you figured it out? ”

Although Cheng Dong didn't say "think about anything clearly", Tian Mu and Gong Chengze both knew in their hearts: This young Zhenguo Duke was asking them, have you thought about changing the court?

As an official in the court, he has always paid attention to the issue of a faction in the court.

Whether you are a minister or a general, whether you are a noble or a humble man, if you want to stand firm and go far in the officialdom, you must first pick a good team and fully devote yourself to it.

or family relatives, or mentor and apprentice classmates, or righteous brothers, or friends of life and death, any kind of emotional bond and interpersonal relationship can be used to form a faction, and then support each other and take care of each other.

On the contrary, if you don't have a court or faction, then not only will the passage of your career become narrower and narrower, but it is also easy to be pushed out to be an unlucky scapegoat when something big happens.

And once you join the court, no one can easily break away or betray. Otherwise, it will inevitably lead to the frenzied attack and exclusion of the faction to which it belongs, and the final outcome may be even more tragic than that of those officials who did not have a faction in the first place.

The so-called party formation is like this.

Originally, the left prime minister Wei Zixuan's family was the largest court in the Holy Tang Dynasty. Metropolitan Governor Yin Chengyi, Imperial Historian Tian Mu, and Inspector Gong Chengze are all backbone members of the Zuo Xiangmen's court. In addition, there are four scholars, more than a dozen waiters, and more than 100 officials, large and small, which can be described as huge.

In opposition to them, there are other factions.

For example, the princess department headed by Li Xiuming, who is under the Pingzhang Department of Tongzhongshu; the southern military department headed by the commander Ma Hongjie, the veteran generals Yan Huiqing, and Mi Pei; The Zhenjiang faction headed by Li Jiangyao, Xu Youchang, Murong Xue, and Dong Tianxing all represented the interests of different political groups.

Now that Wei Zixuan's conspiracy has been exposed and he has committed suicide in fear of crime, his faction is faced with two choices: either elect a new leader and continue to safeguard the common interests of the faction members; Either disband on the spot and everyone goes their separate ways.

And Tian Mu and Gong Chengze came to Cheng Dong for help, and the subtext behind it has the meaning of taking refuge in the traditional noble court. In other words, they want to take refuge in the forces of their relatives headed by Queen Cheng Wen.

Cheng Dong asked them if they had thought clearly, which means: Once you join, you can only serve the court wholeheartedly and loyally, and there is no possibility of jumping ship halfway, let alone regretting taking medicine.

Everyone is an old fritter in the officialdom, and there are some things that are enough to say only half of them.

Tian Mu looked at Gong Chengze, who was sitting next to him, and bowed slightly. Gong Chengze also nodded to him, then got up and arched his hand: "Zhenguo Gong, our brother has already thought it out before he came. From now on, Lord Tian and Cheng Ze will all look forward to the head of the country, let's advance and retreat together, and share blessings and woes! ”