"The right attendant of the military department is Qi Ji, and the northern scholar clan is Qi family. I remember that he was born in Kangyang's third-year second-class jinshi. One step at a time, he has reached the position of the third position in the current military department. can be regarded as a member of the dynasty, and there is a great hope to become the chief officer of the military department in the future, one of the six departments, and become a member of the center! Yuan Dongxiang recalled the information about Qi Ji.

Liu Xin frowned on the side, holding the teacup and blowing without a mouthful, but he didn't drink a sip.

He thought that there must be a big man behind the Imperial Horse Supervisor case, but he didn't expect it to be a big official like the right squire of the Ministry of War, and the two squires of the Ministry of War are actually the reserves of the Ministry of War.

With such a bright future, why would he make such a "small case" as stealing the secret art of the royal horse and supervising the horse breeding?

That's right, for some people, the Yuma Supervisor case is already a monstrous case, but for a person of Qi Ji's status, this is just a small case, and it is completely unnecessary.

What's the point if it's successful?

In particular, Qi Ji is still the right attendant of the military department!

Obviously, as long as he becomes the secretary of the military department, there is no secret technique for raising horses, and is there any secret for him in the army?

Why rush?

Is it a last resort?

Who can persecute a soldier on the right side?

Liu Xin felt that he had found out the mastermind behind the scenes, but it was better not to find out.

As soon as the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes came out, it was immediately a brain-burning activity.

Liu Xin put down the teacup, he remembered that he was not alone, he also had a loyal and intelligent partner: the second in command of the East Factory, Yuan Dongxiang!

Turning his head, he found that Yuan Dongxiang was also worried, Liu Xin asked, "Yuan Qianhu, but what do you think of?" ”

Yuan Dongxiang seemed to really regard Liu Xin as a partner of cooperation, so he didn't hide it, and said: "I was just thinking that Qi Ji, as the mastermind behind the scenes, is more than enough to control these actions in the imperial capital. But we know that the people behind this case have planned to the Hanzhong Military Horse Farm. I only realized now, in fact, those who have the ability to plan in a place like the military horse farm must not have a low status, and there are even only a handful of such figures in the country! ”

Liu Xin understood what Yuan Dongxiang meant, the place in Hanzhong Military Horse Farm was a high-end bureau, and ordinary people were not qualified to play.

"What about Qi Ji's qualifications, is it enough?" Liu Xin asked.

Yuan Dongxiang shook his head and said affirmatively: "It's a thousand miles away!" ”

Yuan Dongxiang's answer surprised Liu Xin's heart, he was not familiar with the Hanzhong Military Horse Farm, so he didn't know what rank he should reach to make trouble there. Yuan Dongxiang's answer also made Liu Xin think that if Qi Ji is not qualified to do things in the Hanzhong Military Horse Farm, then is the mastermind behind the scenes really Qi Ji?

But that's what Jian Fangliang said!

No, although Jian Fangliang said so, it can only show that he thinks that the mastermind behind the scenes is Qi Ji, and whether there is a higher-level person behind Qi Ji, he may not have the qualifications to know.

Liu Xin stroked his forehead, feeling that the case of the Imperial Horse Supervisor was getting more and more complicated, and it was obviously not a big case, but the level of involvement seemed to be getting higher and higher.

"Hey, let's wait for Lord Admiral to summon me to discuss in detail before we delve into this, the higher level of the plane is not something we can speculate." Yuan Dongxiang sighed.

The note left by Kuang Huaizhi had already been sent to Admiral Mi Yusong at the first moment, but Mi Yusong was at the court meeting at this time, and Yuan Dongxiang could not be summoned until the court meeting was over.

Nothing happened for a while, Yuan Dongxiang looked at Liu Xin, just looked at it in a daze for a moment, and he asked:

"Liu Baihu, this matter is over, and then wait for the Admiral to decide."

Liu Xin: "Hmm. ”

Yuan Dongxiang: "Then why are you still staying here?" ”

Liu Xin: "Wait for dinner!" The food in Dongchang is better than that of Jinyiwei, and I have always wanted to ask, is the chef here an imperial chef? ”

Yuan Dongxiang: "..."

————

Imperial City, Taihe Palace

Today is a small court meeting once a day, so there are only a few dozen people in the Taihe Palace. They are all ministers of the Rising Sun Dynasty, and each of them is a bigwig-level figure who can cause a shock with a stomp.

Because it was a small court, Emperor Xuyang simply wore a bright yellow gown, with bright yellow dark lines, and a two-finger-wide golden flowing cloud pattern inlaid on the collar and cuffs, a jade belt tied around his waist, and a fist-sized Lantian jade in the middle.

He was half-leaning on the dragon chair, although his posture was lazy, but there was still a royal power in his gestures.

Mi Yusong, who was dressed in the costume of a great eunuch, stood tall and tall, standing on the left side of Emperor Xuyang's head, his hands naturally hanging on both sides, without a trace of eunuch flattery, but like a general who looked forward to his own pride.

Emperor Xuyang and Mi Yusong's eyes were focused on a scarlet-robed man who was shrouded in an orthodox atmosphere and looked not angry and arrogant, this person was the head of today's Wenchen, Kong Xiaolian, a scholar of the Middle Pole Temple and a scholar of the Ministry of Officials.

"Your Majesty, the king of Xuzhou County is on the table, there are many bandits in Xuzhou, and the king of the county wants to ask his relatives to ask for His Majesty's approval."

Emperor Xuyang got up slowly, pinched his eyebrows, and said with a smile: "This imperial uncle of mine is too cautious, this little thing is naturally decided by himself!" ”

After a pause, Emperor Xuyang's gaze fell on the face of Kong Xiaolian, the official secretary with a righteous face, and said:

"Kong Qing, if it's just this little thing, I don't need you to make up for it."

Although Emperor Xuyang's gaze was peaceful, for Kong Xiaolian, it was like being stared at by a giant dragon, and the pressure of the sea and a landslide hung above his head, as if he was about to be pressed down at any time.

But Kong Xiaolian's face remained unchanged, and his tone was even more stable and neutral: "Your Majesty! Of course, what Lao Chen wants to say is not such a trivial matter as the king of Xuzhou County! ”

Hehe, for the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, it is a trivial matter to dare to say that the matter of a county king, I am afraid there are few people.

Emperor Xuyang bowed his head lightly and motioned for Kong Xiaolian to continue.

Kong Xiaolian continued: "For example, although the overall situation is flat today, in recent years, there have been many wanderers, and there are signs of gradual growth in several places. Not to mention the gang of thieves who have been entrenched in Shuibo Liangshan for more than ten years, other places such as Shaanxi and Mobei have bandits with more than 1,000 people. Although these thieves are not a problem for my Zhengyang army, I am afraid that any one of the generals can be easily wiped out! ”

"But!" Kong Xiaolian's voice suddenly became louder, he took two steps forward, a few points closer to the dragon chair, raised his head and said to Emperor Xuyang with blazing eyes:

"Your Majesty, since the first emperor suppressed literature and promoted martial arts, my Zhengyang military strength has indeed flourished! It is indeed to suppress the Northern Barbarians in the grassland and dare not move without permission. I, the people of Zhengyang, enjoyed a rare time of peace. But for example, today's situation also shows that the barbaric growth of force has caused harm to the stability of the country! ”

Kong Xiaolian's gaze inadvertently swept over several generals on the left side of the main hall, and continued to say loudly: "It's a good thing that the people are brave and brave, but if Wenzhi and Lizhi can't keep up, it will only make countless people with brute force but no morality disturb the world." This constant stream of bandits is proof of this! Which of those bandit leaders is not the so-called green forest heroes, but there are many people, even young people, blindly following and even worshipping such characters! ”

"Although it is poor and rich in martial arts, the number of martial artists in the world today is many times more than before the Kangyang Dynasty, and there are even 30 million students in the world, and the number of brave people may have reached such a scale! Lao Chen didn't want His Majesty to suppress the warriors, because the Northern Barbarians were eyeing the tiger, and for the stability and peace of the country, we needed warriors. ”

But again, the importance of the literati is also very important! Literati could educate the people and spread moral ideas. What the old minister really wants today is to let His Majesty reopen Enke and restore the three-year spring festival! ”

Emperor Xuyang raised his eyebrows, and a moment of anger flashed on his face, but it disappeared in an instant.

Enke, Chunqiu, imperial examination

Since the southern scholars collectively scolded Emperor Xuyang's father, Emperor Kangyang's reckless military force, Emperor Kangyang waved his pen and canceled the imperial examination.

But a few months later, he waved his pen again and opened Enke once, but that time, he was only facing scholars from the north.

In the following years, until the death of Emperor Kangyang, there were several Enke, but most of them were taken by Emperor Kangyang himself, and most of them were scholars from the north.

In the Xuyang Dynasty, Emperor Xuyang basically opened an Enke in two or three years, but arranged for both the north and south scholars to go in, but in the end it was the emperor himself who took the scholars.

What Kong Xiaolian wants to open is a formal imperial examination, and the emperor cannot directly take scholars, but can only wait for the imperial examination to be opened, and among the people who are in the middle of the examination, they will be selected after the interview.

The key is this list, which means that it is fair, everyone is confused about the exam, and each has his own ability.

And when it comes to the ability to take exams, southerners will only look at northerners with contempt, not saying a word, everything is silent.

The reason why Emperor Xuyang's anger flashed away was because his first reaction was that the southerners' scholars wanted to do something. But the thought flashed, Kong Xiaolian is from Henan, oh, then it's okay, Kong Qing has always been right about things and not people, with this proposal, naturally it will not be selfish, but really for the good of the country.

Emperor Xuyang was silent for a long time, and then looked at the cabinet members behind Kong Xiaolian in turn, who were also the leaders of the six departments.

Among the six ministries today, except for Kong Xiaolian, the others are all southerners, so they naturally agree to Kong Xiaolian's proposal.

With some scheming in his heart, Emperor Xuyang spoke: "I know. ”

The simple four words did not express his position, but Kong Xiaolian took two steps back calmly, and then drooped his head, no longer impassioned before.

The ministers present are all old ministers who are familiar with Emperor Xuyang, and Emperor Xuyang's performance is actually telling everyone that I will consider it.

With this attitude, Kong Xiaolian was satisfied, and the other six Shangshu were also satisfied.

"By the way, Qin Guogong is coming back. Since Kong Qing mentioned the bandits in various places just now, after he returns, he will discuss how to solve this matter with the military department, especially Liang Shanshuibo! It has been a big place for more than ten years, and it is because of its existence that so many people will follow suit. After discussing the countermeasures, let's give me a break. ”

Emperor Xuyang's voice fell, and several generals took a step forward, together with Wu Yanai, the secretary of the military department who was in the queue at the same time on the other side.

Then Emperor Xuyang straightened his waist, his eyes gave Mi Yusong, Mi Yusong understood, and with a wave of one hand, a eunuch took a huge map and laid it directly on the ground of the Taihe Palace.

That's the real big thing today!

The ministers looked over and found that this was a map of Zhengyang, but the border had expanded a lot. To the north, it directly encompasses the entire Beiban grassland, as well as the land of the far north, and replaces it with a piece of snow white. To the east are the islands of the Ryukyus, Japan, and Korea. To the west, there is a large desert and a large map of the distribution of the city that the courtiers have never seen!

This!

In the far west, how can there be so many cities!

This is the unified consciousness of several scholars.

A few generals seemed to have gotten the news in advance, although there was still surprise in their eyes, it should be the reason why they saw the real picture for the first time.

"At the beginning of this year, the Dongchang side, from the surrounding area of Zhengyang, spent a great deal of money to bring back the intelligence, gathered into a map." Emperor Xuyang's voice sounded, but the eyes of the ministers still fell on the map.

"On the island of Japan to the east, the Tokugawa shogunate unified the entire territory of Japan, with a population of more than 10 million, and was a potential threat to our Zhengyang. Needless to say, the northern barbarians are in a situation where we are not dying, but when one side is not fully prepared, no one will make the first move. And the most important thing is the west. Mi Yusong took over from Emperor Xuyang and explained this map for the ministers.

Mi Yusong's voice is deep, deep, and calm, like a bottomless lake.

"Unconsciously, a huge country has emerged in the West, even bigger than our Zhengyang. We haven't explored the West for two hundred years, and it's just in those two hundred years that it has eroded into our side. This is the biggest threat we will face next! ”

Mi Yusong's words were like countless thunderbolts, constantly bombarding the minds of the ministers, and even a few generals and people who knew part of the inside story in advance were also dizzy and ringing at this moment, and their brains were buzzing.

How is it possible for a country bigger than Zhengyang?

Zhengyang is the central country, the strongest in the world!

Two thoughts kept pounding back and forth in the minds of all the ministers.

After a few breaths, Kong Xiaolian was the first to come back to his senses, his forehead was full of sweat, his eyes were full of confusion, and he subconsciously looked up at Emperor Xuyang, the master of Zhengyang. He wanted to see what the emperor's expression was now.

The next moment, his heart suddenly settled, and all the uneasiness and confusion disappeared in an instant.

It's like a sharp sword that cuts through the fog.

Emperor Xuyang's face was calm, still with a hint of laziness, and at this time he had returned to his previous posture, even more like he was half-lying on the dragon chair.

"I."

Emperor Xuyang's calm voice sounded in the Taihe Palace, and at this time, all the ministers seemed to be awakened by a kind of magic power, just like Kong Xiaolian's feeling before, and the confusion in his heart suddenly dissipated.

Everyone involuntarily straightened up and looked at Emperor Xuyang.

Emperor Xuyang seemed to be very satisfied with the performance of the ministers, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, and he said in a light tone:

"When we discovered the countries of the West, we also discovered us! Before the country to the country, it is not a child who fights, and if it is not pleasing to the eye, he will do it, and he will definitely send people to test and investigate within our borders. On the contrary, we must also do the same, knowing ourselves and knowing that we will not be defeated in a hundred battles. I'm not afraid of strong enemies, I'm just afraid that the enemy is not strong enough, just a papier-mâché tiger, vulnerable to attack. ”

"I will show you this map today, with only one purpose, to remind everyone that our side is full of enemies, and if you want to go outside, you must first settle inside, Zhuqing, you understand!"

"Old minister, understood!"

"Got it!"

"Minister, understood!"

“...”

The ministers said in unison, and there were different expressions on their faces as they leaned over.

Emperor Xuyang's eyes swept over these figures one by one without the slightest emotion, and there was not the slightest wave in his eyes.

————

It was another day of mixing in the East Factory, and Liu Xin felt that the days were very comfortable.

In fact, according to his temperament, if it weren't for the order of the sect, he wouldn't have come to be this brain-burning brocade guard. In the past few days, he felt that he had used up all the brains that had not been used up in the first half of his body, and he was even a little afraid that excessive use of his brain would have any bad effects on his intelligence.

Fortunately, in the past few days, I have been on Dongchang's thigh, and it would be better if I could go further and find the thigh of that grandmaster.

It's a pity that Yuan Dongxiang always didn't take him to see the Admiral, and Liu Xin also asked directly to the point, but what he got was a very clear answer:

The Admiral knew about him, but didn't want to see him.

Looking at the skylight, it's almost time to get off duty, and another day has passed, and Liu Xin is happy in his heart.

Yuan Dongxiang has been summoned by the Admiral for two hours, and I don't know if he can come back before he goes on duty.

Just a moment before the next duty, Liu Xin was just about to leave the Dongchang Yamen, and the figure of Yuan Dongxiang appeared at the door.

Yuan Dongxiang, who originally looked good, suddenly turned black the moment he saw Liu Xin.

"Hara Chito, why don't you look very happy when you see me." Liu Xin greeted him.

Yuan Dongxiang waved his hand and said, "No... No. ”

"Yuan Qianhu, I deliberately waited for you here, I just want to know the progress of our case as soon as possible, and see what Lord Admiral says."

Yuan Dongxiang strode in, as if he didn't want to deal with Liu Xin, but Liu Xin was like a dog skin plaster, following closely behind him.

When he arrived at his duty room, he returned to his seat, looking at the neat furnishings on the table, Yuan Dongxiang felt that his mood was much better.

In fact, every time he saw the Admiral, he would be exhausted, because there were too many excerpts, secret letters, books... And the Admiral will not allow others to manipulate these things, because many of them are absolutely secret, but the Admiral is not as fond of sorting out as himself... So that environment was enough to make Yuan Dongxiang collapse.

Every time he saw the Admiral, Yuan Dongxiang focused his eyes on the Admiral's body, a certain part, or a pattern on a dress, or an accessory.

Fortunately, the Admiral is still very obedient to his dress.

Coming back from the Admiral, the entire Dongchang Yamen was also very neat and tidy under his rectification. But this neatness has a stain because of Liu Xin's arrival, or a humanoid self-walking stain, which will always appear in his sight.

Even if it's on a mission, why don't you let me go when I'm resting!

Yuan Dongxiang roared in his heart.

But Liu Xin didn't know all this, and was still asking tirelessly.

Looking at Liu Xin, who seemed to be endless, Yuan Dongxiang slapped the table and said in a high-pitched voice:

"Tomorrow, your appointment will come down. From tomorrow, you will be the hundred households of Nanzhen Fusi! ”